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I’m freezing my wotsits off waiting for an engineer to fix my boiler but this talk of HDLG becoming Bryonys agent is warming me up
Coggy, if Bryony wasn’t as good as we think she is would Nicholls be giving her any rides? He doesn’t strike me as the type to be doing anyone a favour. And look how many jockeys he has gone through in his time.
It’s a game of opinions, Coggy is entitled to his, and I simply disagree.
I’ve followed Bryony Frost since she was riding in Points and while she’s no Tony McCoy or Ruby Walsh she is, in just view, a talented rider, a good tactical judge of pace and good at presenting horses at obstacles.
She won a King George by setting a stop-start pace from the front (winning time slower than the Feltham) and basically rode the other jockeys to sleep that day.
She’s certainly every bit as good as some now getting more opportunities than her.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I cant say to much at this moment but let’s just say it’s all coming together , my ultimate goal is to get her on CH for the Champion hurdle , that Nico , looks like he might have brittle bones ….well if the small hammer doesn’t work im sure the bigger one will , has one one seen Big Gs hammer collection …. it’s very impressive…
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
It’s a little-known fact that HDLG was Gary Lineker’s agent back in his playing days.
How else could a bloke who spent his entire football career hanging around the edge of the six-yard box waiting for tap ins have ended up at FC Barcelona?
Every alternative signing picked up a mysterious injury – or simply disappeared!
If you want to get on in life, get on HDLG’s books!
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I make people’s dreams come true … for a price , you don’t pay my price those dreams become nightmares
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
As a female participant in horseracing and other equestrian sports it frustrates me how sexist horse racing still is.
It’s simply not up for debate in dressage / show jumping / eventing that women can be just as good as men. The 2022 World Eventing Championships were won by a woman. The 2020 Olympic Eventing competition was won by a woman.
Let’s not forget that a fence attendant at Stratford, who you could argue has no skin in the weighing room game, gave evidence that they heard Dunne call Frost a “f***ing slut”. As a woman, I personally find this expression extremely offensive / misogynistic.
Well said Archipenko.
I don’t think anyone here is subscribing to conspiracy theories as such. I certainly don’t think large numbers of people in the racing industry are proactively colluding to ensure Frost gets excluded.
But I do think she is tainted goods for many, and that this will be influencing some trainers to avoid booking her.
As I’ve said before, I’d be very interested to know what kind of reception she gets from her fellow jockeys and the valets now.
Thanks Marlingford.
I completely agree with calling out the weighing room for closing ranks. And I really admire Bryony for coming forward, knowing this might happen.
When I worked on a male dominated racing yard, one particular ex jockey type used to regularly scream abuse at me. I was told “ignore X he’s always been like that”. Only the intervention of the trainer’s wife stopped it.
Perhaps suggestive of a culture of expecting people to put up with workplace bullying.
Having said that I’ve had really lovely experiences working on other racing yards. So perhaps one bad egg.
I’m glad to hear your issue was resolved Archipenko. It’s also heartening to hear that you’ve had plenty of good experiences.
I’m sure most people in racing are far from being bullying misogynists, but it’s meaningless if the sport turns a blind eye to the exceptions and suppresses those who raise concerns.
I suspect that Frost’s actions have done some good but, as with most whistleblowers, it has been at considerable personal cost.
‘She’s certainly every bit as good as some now getting more opportunities than her.’
I think that comment could be made about a dozen jockeys at any particular time and most would not have had the opportunities provided by her upbringing. Racings biggest issue with representing society and barriers to entry is the amount of nepotism.
When I worked in racing years ago it was quite brutal. Whilst still at school doing work experience at certain yards I was called horrendous things and received ‘tellings off’, also the odd whack too, for minor things and it was just seen as a sort of induction or toughening up process and was very normalised. I must admit I always just saw it as something you had to go through to get where you wanted to be. It was all very forelock tugging to anyone senior to you and you kind of felt you had voluntarily joined that world. Maybe I should have whistleblown but there was a distinct lack of HR departments.
It was also a very male dominated environment in yards which I feel (knowing some current yards) has been pretty much reversed which is also now bleeding through onto the racecourse albeit a bit too slowly.
I always felt even back in the 80’s that racing was very insular and resistant to change and lagged 15/20 years behind society so I reckon in 2040 it will be fine if it is still here.
“I think that comment could be made about a dozen jockeys at any particular time and most would not have had the opportunities provided by her upbringing”
Very fair comment – to be fair!
“I always felt even back in the 80’s that racing was very insular and resistant to change and lagged 15/20 years behind society so I reckon in 2040 it will be fine if it is still here.”
Cant really argue with this either!
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"It’s really interesting to get some posts from people who’ve worked in the racing industry on this thread.
You raise a good point about nepotism Racingahoy. Can there be any other career besides racehorse trainer where it is still so common for the job to be passed directly from father to son? Admittedly it is a job that you “live”, and where work and home tend to be the same place, so I can see how it happens.
Regardless of the family privilege she has benefited from, my sympathies lie firmly with Frost as is no doubt obvious from previous posts. I think she has played a courageous role in racing’s painfully slow evolution.
Once during my brief stint as a studio pundit on ATR, I dissed a conditional jockey as someone who’d be getting no rides if it wasn’t for his famous father. He duly won the race in question by 20L and was then interviewed on air to give his side of the story.
The original point about nepotism was totally ignored, which might have been because he was interviewed by a famous trainers daughter!
Random jocks – career strike rate:
Nico – 20.71
S Bowen – 17.36
B Hughes – 15.53
A Coleman – 15.42
B Frost – 15.05
A Wedge – 11.64
…………………………………
Chase onlyNico – 20.7
S Bowen – 19.66
B Frost – 18.36
B Hughes 16.25
A Coleman – 15.93
A Wedge – 13.69UK & Ireland only
Are strike rates actually of any meaningful use when assessing jockeys?
Every ride could be on a 100/1 shot or on an odds-on favourite.
Surely it’s winners over or below expected that counts?
The starting prices are our friend in this regard.
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"You can’t really tell much about her ability at all. She has a 7% strike rate for her father (who falls in that David Bridgwater quality of horses), a 16% strike rate for Neil King from 320 rides and a 25% strike rate for Nicholls from 447 rides.
How good is she?
Maybe she was even over performing for her dad, who only has a 4% strike rate in the past five years and for Nicholls she seems to be right on target 25% with the trainer also on a 25% strike rate.
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