Bryony Frost became the first female jockey to win the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day and now has her sights set on the Cheltenham Gold Cup. She rode the incredible game Frodon to victory at Kempton Park chalking up her 175th career win in the process. That made her the most successful female National Hunt jockey of all time.
Trainer Paul Nicholls has stood by Frost who has a remarkable record aboard Frodon, riding him to eight of his fourteen career wins. They include the Grade 1 Ryanair Chase in 2019, a race where they were headed at the second last but rallied bravely up the Cheltenham hill to beat Aso. That was a landmark victory, becoming the first female jockey to ride a Grade 1 chase winner at the festival meeting.
Frodon and Bryony will now line up at the start for the Cheltenham Gold Cup but will that be a bridge too far? The horse is currently quoted at 16-1 and these racing experts points towards Al Boum Photo securing an historic third consecutive victory with his biggest dangers coming from his compatriots in Ireland.
Although Frodon has shown his best form at Cheltenham, there is still a slight doubt as to whether he will see out the Gold Cup distance. It is true that he has won the Cotswold Chase over only a marginally shorter trip but that was in a small field and in a relatively slow time. Frost has plenty of experience around Cheltenham but this will be her first ride in the Gold Cup.
Those likely to line up alongside her include Ireland’s Minella Indo, the mount of Rachael Blackmore. She rides regularly for trainer Henry De Bromhead and has three Cheltenham Festival winners to her name. She rode Minella Indo to a shock 50-1 success in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle in 2019 and the combination went close in last season’s RSA Chase at the festival meeting.
The pair had fought off the attention of Allaho but a mistake at the last proved costly as Champ was produced with a late run to snatch the spoils. That race suggested Minella Indo was up to Gold Cup class and two comfortable victories at Navan and Leopardstown made him a serious contender. The son of Beat Hollow started favourite for the Savills Chase at Leopardstown in December but fell at the eighth fence.
It was his first fall in six runs over fences and he is now being prepared for a tilt at the Irish Gold Cup in February. If all goes well, the Cheltenham Gold Cup will be his next target. It would be dangerous to dismiss his chances on the evidence of one defeat and he is currently 10-1 for the big race.
The prospect of two top flight female jockeys in the Cheltenham Gold Cup will certainly attract plenty of media attention. A breakthrough victory in the blue riband of steeplechasing would surpass anything previously achieved by female jockeys in the sport. There was enormous media interest in Katie Walsh, sister of champion jockey Ruby, when she went so close to winning the Aintree Grand National in 2012.
Katie rode Seabass who was well supported at 8-1 in the betting and only faltered on the run-in, eventually finishing third to Neptune Collonges. Seabass and Katie started favourite for the Grand National the following season but could not reproduce their 2012 effort and finished a remote thirteenth. Walsh won the Irish Grand National aboard Thunder And Roses in 2015 and rode three Cheltenham Festival winners.
