Bryony Frost is more popular with the public than some trainers, according to her boss Paul Nicholls.

The 29-year-old is set to head to France to seek more opportunities following Saturday’s Jumps Finale at Sandown - after admitting she had found rides hard to come by this season.

Frost, whose big race wins include the Ryanair Chase at the 2019 Cheltenham Festival and the 2020 King George VI Chase, has ridden 26 winners this season.

Four of her most recent victories have come in the last fortnight when she rode a big race winner in front of the ITV cameras at the Grand National meeting.

Until the last two campaigns she would regularly ride over 40 winners a season. Frost will ride 50-1 shot Flash Collonges for Nicholls in the bet365 Gold Cup on Saturday.

In France she can take advantage of the weight allowance available to female riders against men and the move has Nicholls’s full backing.

“She’s riding well at the moment and I think the public like her more than some trainers do, because she doesn’t seem to get too many rides these days,” said Nicholls.

“But she’s still riding as well as ever and rode a nice winner up at Perth and a few last week – she’s going well and she takes the opportunities she’s given with both hands.

“It’s not for me to decide who rides other people’s horses, but it just strikes me she does ride well and she doesn’t get that many opportunities.”

He added: “I think she’s off to France until October to try to get some experience and opportunities there and then she will come back and she will always slot in with us. She comes and rides out twice a week and there will always be opportunities for her.

“The girls get an allowance out there (in France) and it could be a good opportunity for her. We’re not going to be busy between May and October, so I said go and enjoy yourself. It will be interesting to see how she gets on.

“I would say she is going to get out there pretty quickly and give it a good go, because ultimately I’m not going to have many for her during the summer, as Harry will ride most of them.”