New complaint in Frost bullying case

Welch left in tears

A SECOND female jockey told a BHA investigation that she had been on the receiving end of intimidating behaviour from Robbie Dunne, who has been accused of bullying and harassment by Britain’s top female jump jockey Bryony Frost.

The Sunday Times last night named amateur rider Hannah Welch as one of the female riders on a list Frost handed over to the BHA who she claimed had also been the victims of Dunne’s ‘crudeness’.

Lilly Pinchin, Millie Wonnacott, Gina Andrews and Page Fuller all played down the significance of Dunne’s behaviour when talking to BHA investigator Nathan Taylor.

But Welch, who rode three winners from 50 rides under rules including nine rides for Frost’s trainer father Jimmy, said she felt there was a culture in the weighing room where it was permissible to treat novice, amateur and female jockeys badly.

She also told of a clash with Dunne when they rode against each other at Chepstow in October 2018 which left her in tears.

The Sunday Times, which has received a leaked copy of the 120-page BHA report after an investigation into Frost’s allegations, reported that Welch told investigators: ‘There was an incident which involved Robbie Dunne. It occurred following a race in which I rode Foxy Lass. Mr Dunne confronted me after the race. This happened some years ago and I cannot remember exactly what was said.

‘It was along the lines of, “You’ve no right to go on my inner. It’s completely out of order. We’d all lined up so you can’t go pushing up the inner of professional jockeys”.

‘Mr Dunne placed himself right in front of me and was squaring and mouthing off at me. He swore at me multiple times. This went on for around one minute.

‘The incident occurred in front of the entire weighing room. I was crying and did not say anything back. When I look back on this, I find it bizarre that none of the other jockeys intervened and said to Mr Dunne he had gone far enough.

‘There was no justification for what happened afterwards.’

Welch, who quit the sport in June last year to pursue a nursing career, told investigators that she felt that behaviour in the weighing room would not be in most other work places.

The Mail On Sunday contacted Wonnacott, one of the female jockeys on Frost’s list. She said: ’I have never been the subject of, or witness to any inappropriate behaviour in the weighing room.’