Races
KEMPTON SPECIALISTS | Frodon
Paul Nicholls’ brave star has claimed several Graded victories at Kempton in his career
When Frodon took a tumble at the last in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day in 2016, not many would have expected the gelding to be crushing his opponents in the card’s feature race four years later.
It would be the last time Paul Nicholls’ talent would fall over fences and the only time in his career to date where he would not finish in the winners’ enclosure at the Surrey course.
The gelding would return to the course two months later, winning the Grade 2 Pendil Novices’ Chase comfortably.
In a small field of four runners, he pulled clear on the turn into the home straight with Nicky Henderson’s Gold Present.
Both chasers traded blows as they approached the final fence but Frodon had that little extra, as he pushed on the final stages to claim victory by two lengths.
It would be just under three years before Nicholls’ chaser would return to the Kempton track, as he went on to win the Silviniaco Conti Chase in January 2020.
The then eight-year-old made all in the contest, finding extra in the closing stages to stop the advances of Keeper Hill and claim victory by one and a quarter lengths.
But his finest performance of the course came 11 months later, in the form of the King George VI Chase.
Sitting at a huge price of 20/1, Frodon took to the front early on and remained there for the whole three miles, jumping slickly throughout to keep his rivals at bay.
Benefitting from a superb ride from Bryony Frost, the gelding kept producing more in the home straight and battled on bravely to see off Waiting Patiently by two and a half lengths.
Frodon is likely to return to Kempton to defend his King George title during the festive period and he could well be claiming his fourth consecutive win at the course.
With a near-perfect record at the track so far in his career, Frodon qualifies as a Kempton course specialist.
