Bryony Frost alleges Robbie Dunne "promised" to hurt her after his horse died

12/01/2021

Bryony Frost wiped away tears as she told how Robbie Dunne allegedly "promised" to hurt her after his horse died in a race.

Frost, 26, claimed her weighing room colleague made the threat at Southwell, following the death of Cillian's Well.

The horse came down and Dunne alleged the incident was a result of Frost not keeping her mount, Wisecracker, straight.

Giving her evidence to a British Horseracing Authority hearing about what happened on September 3, 2020, Frost said Dunne approached her while she was sitting in the weighing room.

At the time, she was ready to go out for the next race – and said she was unaware the chaser had died.

Questioned about Dunne's actions, by his representative Roderick Moore, Frost claimed: "He promised me that he was going to hurt me, that he was going to put me through a wing (of a fence).

"It was the promise and the way he delivered it at such a time that made me very much believe he wanted to, 100 per cent."

Moore suggested to her that it was a "heat of the moment exchange."

An emotional Frost denied this, adding: "I was unaware he lost his horse and I did not believe I had anything to do with him losing his horse at Southwell that day. And I know what he said and he promised he was going to hurt me and I believed him.

"And I for one then had to go and ride again. It was the first time I'd… (Bryony composes herself). And he said it to me in such a way that I believed him. It wasn't angry, he wasn't red faced… he delivered it and he wanted me to know exactly what he felt about me and he wanted me to know exactly what he wanted to do."

Frost denied Moore's claim Dunne was "genuinely very upset" at the death of Cillian's Well, the winner of five races. She suggested he "never mentioned" it at that time.

Dunne, 36, admits a breach of Rule (J) 20, acting in a violent or improper manner towards Frost on September 3, 2020. He disputes the words used.

The panel, chaired by Brian Barker QC, will decide whether Dunne has committed 'conduct prejudicial to horse racing.'

Members will also rule on if he 'acted in a violent or improper manner' by 'verbally abusing and threatening a fellow jockey' at Stratford on July 8 and Uttoxeter on August 17 last year.

Louis Weston, for the BHA, revealed yesterday how Dunne and Frost fell out in 2017.

Frost "stood up" to her weighing room colleague when he appeared naked in front of her, Weston said.

Frost alleged at the hearing: "I remember Robbie through my amateur career being inappropriate to many of us. I remember him opening his towel up and shaking himself and thinking it was funny. That's what I can recall."

Dunne has said being naked was not a sexual act and he would have been walking from the sauna to the weighing scales.

He added that such incidents were always possible in the men's changing room, where female riders could go to collect kit.

Bridget Andrews, Gina Andrews, Millie Wonnacott, Page Fuller, Lucy Pinchin and Lucy Barry gave witness statements as part of the case.

Pinchin said Dunne "could be childish", while Fuller said he previously had "persistent banter" towards her but that now "they get on well."

Frost added: "The isolation I felt from speaking out I wouldn't wish on anyone. You are asking me for my opinion and they [the other female riders] have to go into the weighing room every day.

"I feel that they are protecting themselves and, rightly so, to stay neutral."

Moore asked Frost about the time another jockey, not named in proceedings, had called her a c*** after a race.

She said he apologised in the weighing room – and that the issues between her and Dunne were different.

Frost claimed he was "more aggressive, more direct."

"It was over a long period of time and that's why I'm here," she added.

"It was never getting any better."

Frost said she was "really upset" by what he said to her after a race at Stratford on July 8, 2020.

She finished second on Wisecracker and Dunne was sixth on Cillian's Well.

Frost alleged that Dunne came over on his horse "very aggressively" and claimed she had "murdered him (cut across him)."

Frost told the enquiry she could not understand what she had done wrong initially – and when watching the replay.

The hearing continues.

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