Cheltenham’s safe bet

CHELTENHAM have changed the qualification necessary for amateur riders starting from next year. At the 2018 Festival, jockeys in the Foxhunter Chase and the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Handicap Chase will be required to have completed at least 15 racecourse rides, the majority over fences, or 20 or more completions in point-to-point. The move is to stop a repeat of the Victoria Pendleton entry — when the former Olympic cyclist rode the Foxhunter Chase on Pacha Du Polder, in only her third test over racecourse fences. Pendleton was funded by a leading betting exchange and, being a supreme competitor, carried it off with bravery and style — even though Pacha Du Polder won the race the following year, with an experienced pilot — but it was a close call. Had she fallen off or lost control, she and her mount could have been seriously hurt and racing would have been shamed by the scandal. It is to her credit that Pendleton got round, but racing is right to put a stop to this before any damage is done. Indeed, it should have happened sooner.