‘To feel the support of everyone here is huge’: hero’s welcome greets Bryony Frost after Tingle Creek success
Jockey Bryony Frost with Greaneteen after winning the Betfair Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown Park.
(Image credit: PA)
After a trying week for Bryony Frost – which included a day being cross-examined in the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) hearing against Robbie Dunne, who she has accused of bullying and harassing her – she won the Grade One Betfair Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown on Saturday (4 December), returning home to a hero’s welcome.
Bryony was riding the seven-year-old Greaneteen, one of the rising stars of the two-mile division, and the pair gave trainer Paul Nicholls a remarkable 12th winner of the race, beating stable companion Hitman by 5½ lengths.
Not surprisingly, the post-race media focus was all about the jockey rather than her mount and, regardless of the outcome of the ongoing hearing, she got a huge reception and three cheers from the Sandown crowd.
About the race, she added: “The ground out there is very testing, which was a concern of mine obviously from coming here at the end of April and winning [beating Altior in the Celebration Chase] on good ground. You had to think that that was our major factor and the biggest hindrance to us, but he settled very quickly.
“There were a few moments down the back there on the fence along the side and he was right down on his nose. But he was a good boy and came back up. We were like a submarine emerging at that point and then turning in we had our stablemate [Hitman] right beside us.
“We soared out over two out, we’ve come down to the last and found it and then from the back of the last I thought, ‘Oh God. This seems like it’s a mile long!’ But we found the line. In these big races sometimes you say it’s a relief and then it floods in like a waterfall; we won the Tingle Creek.”
Paul Nicholls, who had been climbing the walls at home for 10 days after testing positive for Covid, said: “It has been a difficult week for Bryony, but she has handled it well and I don’t think any of us would like to be in that position. But when you come back in and ride a Grade One winner today, that says everything about her how professional she is.”
He added: “We had no belief in Greaneteen last year, that’s probably half the problem. He was only beaten two lengths in this last year. I think he’s a better horse, but we’ve got belief in him now.”
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