Bryony Frost reflects on a terrific start to 2019 and looks ahead to her six rides for the weekend.
I was delighted to get the year off to a good start with a double at Exeter on New Year’s Day.
Exeter is my home track, and loads of people turned up, so to ride two winners there for Paul on the day was fantastic.
Cliffs Of Dover was very good in the handicap hurdle. He settled like a dream, and I couldn’t have hoped that he would hurdle any better than he did. He was the best horse in the race, he had top weight, but he still had to go and do it.
The main thing was that he settled for me. That was the thing that I was happiest about. I just put my hands on his withers and let him gallop away. He carried me through the race and he carried me all the way to the line.
Greaneteen is a lovely little horse, and it was great that he was able to build on his Sandown run.
The better ground helped him, and he jumped economically. He was clever when he needed to be, and he won well. That win took Paul into the top 10 winning-most trainers in Britain. It was brilliant that I was able to ride the winner that took him to that milestone.
I don’t tend to set targets for myself, but Dad had said to me that it would be good if we could get to 30 winners for the season by New Year’s Day.
We were on 28 going into the day, so those two winners took us to 30.
I was really pleased with how Triple Chief ran too. I thought turning for home that we might be able to get it done, and I would have loved to have ridden a winner for Dad, but he just tired late on. Even so, we were very happy with how he ran.
We were very happy too with how Quinto ran at Hereford on Wednesday. He always tries his hardest. He’s a funny little chap, you’ve got to agree with him, and if you put him under too much pressure, he’ll curl up underneath you. But he always does his best for you when you ask him nicely.
Coming down the hill, I saw Some Finish still hard on the bridle, and we were struggling away to try to keep up. We winged two out and I thought that, if we had any chance of beating him, it was to come wide onto the better ground and not engage in battle with him. It wasn’t to be, he was always holding us, but Quin still ran a big race.
Matchbook Betting Exchange Brand Ambassador Jockey Bryony Frost. Picture by Mikal Ludlow Photography 17-10-18
It’s a busy day for me at Wincanton on Saturday. I have five rides, headed by Kapcorse in the novices’ hurdle.
He’s going back over hurdles now after two chases this season, and three in total, but he should be fine. He was very good in winning a handicap chase at Newbury last month. I’ve schooled him over hurdles at home, and he’s gone well.
I’m looking forward to getting back on him again, a lovely great big young horse like him. He should go well.
I ride San Satiro in the three-mile novices’ handicap chase. He has been jumping fences at home and he’s clever. He knows where his feet are.
He has had his troubles, he has to become a racehorse again. We need to find him again after his last two disappointing runs over hurdles.
It’s difficult to be confident about him after those two runs, but he has been schooling well, and hopefully, the pace of the race will allow him settle into a rhythm. Hopefully, he can get back into the groove of life.
I ride The Dellercheckout in the two and a half mile novices’ handicap chase. He ran a nice race at Ludlow over hurdles last time. Turning in, it looked like he had it fairly well covered, but he just couldn’t go on.
That race is working out well though, the winner Burrows Park has won again since off a 7lb higher mark. The Dellercheckout will be racing off his hurdles mark, and this is his first chase, but he has schooled well. The track will suit him and hopefully, he can run a nice race.
I rode Copain De Classe in the handicap chase. He will be going the right way around for him, and he will love the ground.
He struggles with himself a bit. He is a young horse with a big frame, he is trying to figure out where his legs are. But he has been doing plenty of schooling at home, and he has been going well. He is going the right way, and hopefully, he can improve from his last run at Wetherby.
I ride My Way in the last, the maiden hurdle. He’s a smart little horse, he ran a nice race at Sandown last time on soft ground, and he should appreciate the better ground here.
He should come on from his Sandown run. He is a quality-looking horse, and I hope that he can run well.
I’m off to Plumpton on Sunday to ride Brandon Castle in the opening novices’ hurdle. He was keen as a bean last time, but we put it to good use. He more or less ran away with me, he went like Nijinsky early on, but we managed to get a breather into him and hold onto enough to get him home.
That’s just him and I’m not going to battle him. His jumping is holding up well, even at that speed, and a repeat of last time would be great. You try to conserve as much as you can, but you don’t want to argue with him. I do like him though, and I hope that he can run a good race.
