Jockey Of The Month: Cobden, Frost And Sheppard Nominated For Festive Performances

Features | 5^th January 2022

Here's your chance to vote for the jockey you think had the best month in December. Vote now...

The three jockeys nominated for December Jockey of the Month 2021 are Grade 1 winners Harry Cobden, Bryony Frost and Welsh National hero Stan Sheppard.

All three nominees had big race winners throughout the month. Find out more about each jockeys’ month below.

Voting has now closed with Stan Sheppard winning with 67% of the vote.

Stan Sheppard

Herefordshire-based Sheppard had a great month by anyone’s standards, scooping the biggest prize of his career in the Welsh National on 8-year-old Iwilldoit for local trainer Sam Thomas.

The victory was also Thomas’ biggest career success as a trainer and the Glamorgan-based handler follow Christian Williams (Potters Corner, 2019) and Evan Williams (Secret Reprieve, 2020) as Welsh winners of the race.

In addition to this historic victory, Sheppard combined with Lossiemouth to win his first Grade Two race in Sandown’s Winter Novices’ Hurdle at the start of December.

Harry Cobden

Harry Cobden’s season has gone from strength to strength as Paul Nicholls powerful Ditcheat yard continues to yield quality winners week-in-week-out. Three of those, Grade 1 winners Bravemansgame and Stage Star and Grade 2 winner Pic D’Orhy won impressively over the festive break.

Bravemansgame performance cemented the 7-year-old as one of the hottest prospects around. Following the victory in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase Paul Nicholls made it known that bigger challenges lie ahead with a potential return to Kempton for the 2022 King George on the cards!

Bryony Frost

Bryony Frost, arguably best-known for her partnership with King George hero Frodon is seemingly striking up another brilliant partnership with another of Paul Nicholls’ big guns.

8-year-old two-mile chaser Greaneteen put his rivals on notice earlier this year, teaming up with Bryony for the first time when beating Altior in in Sandown Park’s Grade 1 Celebration Chase.

Since then, the pair haven’t stopped progressing, culminating in a hard-fought win in this year’s Tingle Creek Chase. That victory could well mean the duo cement a place in this year’s highly competitive Queen Mother Champion Chase field. In the meantime though, it means Bryony is a very worthy nominee in December’s Jockey Of The Month.