Bryony Frost, with an ecstatic triple fist-pump as she crossed the line, made history on an emotionally charged day at the Festival when, most unusually, both the big races gave in to public demand and yielded the longed-for “fairytale” results. Angry words have been bandied around here this week, the result of conflict between racing professionals and those who run the sport, but those tensions were forgotten in collective admiration of the ebullient, charismatic Frost and her splendidly game partner, Frodon, who fought off all challengers to win the Ryanair Chase.

“He is Pegasus, he has got wings,” gushed Frost, who became the first woman to ride a Grade One winner over these fences. The most blue-sky-thinking PR worker could not have dreamed up a more likeable jockey to achieve the feat, or a more versatile one, since Frost can drive a horse to the line and then immediately switch to eulogising his performance. “That minute where he got overtaken two out, most horses would quit,” she added, determined that all should share in her appreciation of Frodon’s qualities. “But no, he grabbed me by the hands and said, ‘Don’t you dare give up. Don’t you dare not send me into the last. I want this more than you, now come on! Where are you?’”

And, patting the diminutive chaser on the neck, she finished with: “He’s unbelievable. I love you, mate!”

Frodon wins the Ryanair Chase!



What a moment for the sport, a first win at the festival for @frost_bryony



Watch the #CheltenhamFestival LIVE on @ITV pic.twitter.com/n3EPDmCdly — ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 14, 2019

It was at the Festival two years ago that a 21-year-old Frost first made headlines, winning the Foxhunter Chase on Pacha Du Polder when she was still an amateur. Her partnership with Frodon is an indicator of the way her career has gone since; he was supposed to be someone else’s ride but she happened to get on him one day, did well and was on him again the next time. This is how the job must be done if, like Frost, you are working for a big stable among more senior jockeys and she has seized every chance that has come her way, winning major races at regular intervals.

Jockeys often say the first taste of glory in this hectic environment is fleeting and only a second one can really be savoured. Frost has been looking forward to this Festival for weeks, since she and Frodon won here in January, and she milked the experience, from her well-chosen words straight afterwards through her triumphal return past the stands to the celebrations with her family on dismounting.

Among those there to greet her was her father, Jimmy, whose own riding career included a Champion Hurdle win here in 1991. “This is incredible,” said the man to whom Frost still turns for guidance every day. “I’m so proud of her. I don’t think they missed a beat out there, did they? We walked the course this morning and she just rode it absolutely to the minute, to the letter, to the second.”

Quick Guide Bryony Frost: her biggest wins Show 17 Mar 2017: First Cheltenham Festival winner aboard Pacha Du Polder in Foxhunters’ Chase, getting home by a neck from Katy Walsh on Wonderful Charm. 26 Dec 2017: First Grade One win on Black Corton in Kauto Star novice chase at Kempton, becoming only the second woman jockey to win at highest level. 12 Nov 2018: Rides out her claim with 75th victory of her career, joining the ranks of full professional riders with win on Marienstar at Kempton. 14 Mar 2019: First female jockey to win a Grade One over jumps at the Festival as Frodon leads the field home in the Ryanair Chase. Photograph: Steve Davies/Rex Features

Is she as good as you were, he was asked. Frost has certainly not had a career yet to match her father’s, considering he won a Grand National, too. Still, he replied: “Oh, hundreds better. Both the children are better than me,” gesturing to his son, Hadden, who rode his own winner here in 2010 and flew back from his job riding in the US to cheer on his sister.

Four different women rode winners at the last Festival and this one is going the same way, as Lizzy Kelly scored an hour after Frost (“I watched Bryony and thought, that was my gameplan!”) while Rachael Blackmore had her moment here on Tuesday. There is no parity in the weighing room, not yet anyway, since men still take the lion’s share of the rides, but women are evidently able to muscle their way in, which did not seem true 15 years ago.

At some point Frost’s achievements may stop being framed in the context of her being a female jockey. But for as long as she is doing things that have never been done by a woman before, it seems valid. Surely there is another generation of female riders on their way, taking inspiration from her deeds, as well as those of Nina Carberry, Katie Walsh and others.

Frost, like Blackmore, could not be more clear that she does not want to be defined by her sex. “I do what I do,” she said here. “If I was a boy, I’d ride the same. I’d show my emotions exactly the same. It’s just the style I’ve got.”

And there is no danger of anything going to her head, as she promised to be in bed by 9.30pm, ready for an early shift of mucking out at Paul Nicholls’ Somerset stable on Friday morning. “That’s one of the best days ever,” said the trainer, who, perhaps crucially, took Frodon to Wincanton for a racecourse gallop last Friday to sharpen up his fitness. Nicholls has now had two Grade One wins here this week and hopes to make it three, with Clan Des Obeaux, in Friday’s Gold Cup. “I knew he had to be mega, mega fit today, to bowl along in front like that,” Nicholls said. “I said to Bryony, just keep saving and use one run from the back of the last, and she did that brilliantly.”