‘I actually giggled and, at that moment, we weren’t in a race – we were just having fun together’
Hurdle-winning father Jimmy could talk tactics. “I had my whole family there, which just doesn’t happen,” says the jockey. “My brothers Hadden, who flew over from America, and Daniel were there, as was my mum Nikki. “I got out on track with Dad and it was just about walking the line and finding the strides – knowing what part of the fence I wanted to jump. Thinking about plan A, B, C and D in case something goes wrong. I’m very lucky to have Dad to lean back on.” T HE weighing room at Cheltenham is akin to a pressure cooker and only those who can deal with the intense heat perform at their optimum, but Frost was determined to use the atmosphere to her advantage. “The Festival is like the Olympics to us, so it’s intense. The atmosphere in the changing room is different,” says the 24-year-old. “I always say nerves are a disguise for excitement. They mean you’re alive and focused. When nerves start to freeze you and make you scared, that’s when they become negative.” It was soon time to slip the blue and white silks of Frodon’s owner Paul Vogt over her shoulders before the call to leave the weighing room arrived. There was no going back now. “I actually bumped into Frodon as he was parading and I was walking out and I smiled at him and said, ‘All right lad’. He was bouncing around and he knew it was a big day. “Paul gave me a quick brief but he never makes it complicated – he just reminds you of a few of the facts and then you’re getting legged up and away you go. “It’s quite a tight bend down to the
before but you’ve got to try to get yourself out of the buzz. Go to bed, go to sleep, get up, go and ride out, do your normal thing, into the car and go racing.” Frost first rode Frodon in competitive action in December 2017 but it was at the start of last season the pair really started to gel. They won the Old Roan Chase first time out at Aintree and then finished runners-up in the BetVictor Gold Cup at Cheltenham in November. They then went one better back here for the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup but it was their win on Trials day, giving weight away in the Grade 2 Cotswold Chase, that really established them as genuine Festival contenders. The only question then was whether trainer Paul Nicholls would target him at the Ryanair or the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup? Frost says: “Paul is a master at having them in the right races and giving them the best chance, and we were always of the opinion of running him in the race he’s most likely to win. That’s why he went for the Ryanair.” With the decision made, she could really start to focus on the job in hand. “To be in a yard with horses who are going to The Festival with a live chance is mega,” says the rider. “You’re not just going there to make the numbers, you’re going there with one of the most talked-about horses. To be a partnership with Frodon is unbelievable and just to say you’re his jockey is pretty epic.” Sticking to her regular regime, Frost remembers arriving at Cheltenham hours before the masses poured in, setting out her kit with precision in the weighing room and sipping her cup of hot sugary tea as usual. Then it was out to the track, where she and her 1991 Champion
Bryony Frost and Frodon (right) on their way to victory in the Ryanair Chase from Aso (left) and Road To Respect
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