Love is in the air on Valentine’s Day and we are taking a look at two racing love stories – equine and human – for the day that’s in it!
Racing Love Stories: Valentine’s Day 2025
Top jockeys Hollie Doyle and Tom Marquand fell in love after they met as teens on the pony racing circuit and climbed to the top of the sport together, while Bryony Frost’s enduring partnership with Frodon had enough highs and lows and a heart-warming end to make for a Hollywood blockbuster.
Racing Love Stories: Hollie and Tom
The only place to start is with top Flat jockeys and racing power couple Hollie Doyle and Tom Marquand. They are both Group 1-winning riders now, but they met as teenagers on the pony racing circuit and got engaged in 2020, when Doyle also grabbed third in the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards and was named The Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year.
They wed in March 2022 at St John’s Church in Ivington, followed by a reception at Bredenbury Court Barns in the West Midlands, which is suitably an exclusive barn style wedding venue! The happy couple arrived from the church in a vintage Fiat 500 and quickly put the nuptials behind them as they headed to compete at the Dubai World Cup in Meydan just days later. They continue to shine and both have won major races in Britain, Ireland, France and further afield.
Racing Love Stories: Frodon and Bryony
The non-stop nature of racing means jockeys ride a plethora of horses on a daily basis, but some partnerships simply mean more. That was certainly the case for Bryony Frost and Frodon, the Paul Nicholls-trained star with whom she developed a lasting affinity. Together they won 11 races, including the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 2019 and a King George at Kempton in 2020.
“When he was younger, he was quite bullish and a know-it-all. This year, we have really clicked, we have just found this wave we are riding on together,” Frost said of Frodon in 2019. I know for a fact he will offer me 100 per cent of himself, and I will give it right back. ‘Frod’ is the man. It’s a privilege to be with him.”
Racing Love Stories: Her ‘Little Dude’
It was clear to see that Frost’s alliance with Frodon had become more of a love story than anything else, and his career blossomed under her. Frodon’s final win came in the Badger Beer Handicap Chase at Wincanton in November 2022, after which Frost said: “I really felt the love for the sport when the crowd got behind him.”
Owner Paul Vogt opted to retire Frodon, aged 11, late in 2023, and quickly confirmed that the horse would spend his retirement in Frost’s care in the Devon countryside. For her part, the jockey declared the match made in heaven would continue on Dartmoor. “It will be a privilege to look after my friend, just as he has looked after me for all those seasons,” she said.
His days now will be spent alongside Black Corton galloping carefree across the moor. There will be rides on the beach, an all-you-can-eat hay net and whatever else he finds fun.”
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