Matchbook Ambassador Bryony Frost reflects on her rides in the past few days including Saturday’s win on Brio Conti at Ascot
Brandon Castle was very good again at Plumpton on Monday. He has now run three times over hurdles, all three times at Plumpton, and he has won all three times.
He’s settling better now too. Neil and his team have done a great job with him. Teaching him how to be a National Hunt horse. It’s different to the flat. Sometimes flat horses can run their race through the first two furlongs when they start off in National Hunt races, and then hit a flat spot after about a mile, when the other horses are moving on.
Brandon Castle is learning all the time. I’m confident in the little horse. And as he’s learning, he’s improving.
He’s settling into his stride now and into his breathing, and he’s learning how to calculate his hurdles into that. He’s exciting.
We had a good day at Fontwell on Sunday. Ostuni was good in winning the handicap hurdle, and Lil Rockerfeller ran a big race in the National Spirit Hurdle.
It looks like Ostuni is finally getting his act together. It has taken him a while. The team have done a great job with him, getting him to concentrate, getting him to use his ability.
He was always a bit immature, his jumping was always a bit babyish, legs everywhere, but he is getting there.
He wasn’t keen going to the start on Sunday, which was good. He can often give me a bit of a run for my money on the way to the start, but he was nicely settled on Sunday.
He travelled nicely through his race too. I’d say that that’s the best he has ever travelled. And he picked up well. It was a nice performance.
Matchbook Betting Exchange Brand Ambassador Jockey Bryony Frost. Picture by Mikal Ludlow Photography 17-10-18
Lil Rockerfeller ran very well on ground that he wouldn’t really have liked. It was still a bit gluey after the frost, it wasn’t ideal for him, but I was chuffed with him. He gave me everything, we served it up to them as best we could, and he wasn’t beaten far by two good horses. It’s good that he’s finding his form again now over hurdles.
The Boss’s Dream had to work hard for his victory at Lingfield last Monday, but he dug deep. It looks like we have finally found the key to him, it has taken us a few goes, but he seemed to enjoy it. He gave me all he had. I was chuffed with him. He came out then on Monday at Uttoxeter and ran another big race in another handicap chase under a penalty. He’s in terrific form.
It was brilliant to win the handicap hurdle at Ascot last Saturday on Brio Conti. It was brilliant fun to ride him.
I just settled him out the back and got him jumping. He was much happier on that better ground than he had been on the soft ground at Sandown on his previous run.
He has had his issues, but we knew that he had retained a lot of his talent. It was nice to have him there, it was nice to have him back. The stewards’ inquiry was a bit of a finger-biter, but we were always holding the second horse on the run-in. I wasn’t surprised that the result stood.
Black Corton ran a great race too in the handicap chase. He did everything he could for me. We kicked off the home turn, we tried to steal a few lengths, which we did, but weight stops trains. We were trying to concede almost a stone to Calipto, and we just couldn’t do it in the end. It was a massive run though.
