Bryony Frost has won the Badger Ales Trophy with her Present Man which was trained by Paul Nicholls in a very tight race. It is the biggest victory of her riding career so far.
Bryony Frost and Leighton Aspell were the only runners within view of winning during the last moments of the 3 miles and 1½ furlongs race. The game was preceded by heavy rain which looked to lessen the chances of Present Man's win. And it looked during the final moments as though Aspell had overtaken Frost. However, she guided Present Man to victory in a very close, head to head competition.
It was a tough decision for punters since there were many strong contenders in this race. Whether to choose the Double Shuffle, Southfield Theatre, Yala Enki, Mont Royale or Mr Mix was a tough choice since they were all thought to be very strong contenders for the win, having good previous records. However, Present Man did not disappoint those bettors who made him their first choice. Other horse races from all over the UK and Ireland can be viewed at tomorrow's horse racing racecards, if you want to try your luck at betting.
According to Frost, Present Man had “the heart of a lion.” And also that “he answers every question.” Paul was also impressed with the way Present Man had delivered them this victory considering the heavy rain. He considered Present Man's victory to be the work of years. “He's took three years to get where he is.”
Paul Nicholls is the legendary 10 times champion trainer who showed a great faith in the abilities of Bryony Frost. After winning this, the number of Badger Ales Trophies he has won as a trainer becomes eight. He praised Bryony Frost in glowing terms like “a peach of a ride” and “a fantastic ride.” According to him, Bryony “rides as well as all those lads.”
Frost was also effusive in her praise and gratitude towards him. She said that Paul showed a great deal of support towards her and showed faith in her that she could do it irrespective of the fact that she was a girl.
The family of Bryony Frost is not unknown to horse racing as her father Jimmy Frost was the 1989 Grand National winner as well as the winner of the Badger Ales Trophy in 1996 while her brother Hadden Frost is currently a National Hunt professional jockey. Her ambition for horse racing was from the very beginning.
When Jimmy Frost fobbed off his very small daughter that maybe at nine, she could sit on a racehorse while hoping that she would forget all this, he was surprised to find that the very morning Bryony had turned ninth she had asked him to make good on his promise. And after thirteen years, she clinched the very title which her father had won in 1996 on Coome Hill when she was just beginning to walk.
Jimmy Frost was present at the time in sharing the exuberant moment of his daughter. He said that he had tried twelve years to dissuade her from choosing such a career, since he knew “what a tough life it is.” He said that she had a fall some days ago and he had tried to persuade her to take some rest. But she had refused to take any break saying that “they will think I am a wuss cos I'm a girl.” And therefore, she could not have let that happen.
She has been a winner at the Cheltenham Festival just like Hadden (her brother), defeating the very best of horse racers from both England and Ireland.
