The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Pendleton going for gold after green light
CHELTENHAM: Olympic cycling champion cleared to ride
Victoria Pendleton would rank completing the course at the Cheltenham Festival alongside her golden glory days in the Olympics.
Pendleton said it was “hugely exciting” to have been given clearance to ride the Paul Nicholls-trained Pacha Du Polder in the St James’s Place Foxhunter Chase a week on Friday.
Yet despite her monumental cycling achievements, the 35-year-old dual Olympic champion would be just as proud to pass the finishing line in what is widely recognised as the Gold Cup for amateur jockeys.
Pendleton said: “We have always had the extremely ambitious target of riding competitively in the Foxhunter as our goal, so to be announcing that I have achieved this goal is a truly amazing feeling.
“This has been no walk in the park, it has been physically demanding. I’ve had to dig deep, but I never wanted to give up.
“This is hugely exciting. There’ll be a phenomenal crowd at Cheltenham and I am so excited.
“If I get round on the horse and complete the course I’ll feel like that’s a gold medal.”
Pendleton focused her sights on horse racing as part of a ‘switching saddles’ campaign which was announced last March and has been backed by bookmakers Betfair.
The road to Cheltenham has not been smooth for Pendleton, with several hiccups along the way, but she gained her first win as a jockey on the Andy Stewart-owned Pacha Du Polder at Wincanton last week.
She has been tutored daily by Alan and Lawney Hill, leading figures on the point-to-point racing scene, as well as champion trainer Nicholls and leading equestrian coach Yogi Breisner.
Sir Anthony McCoy has also lent his weight behind the project, though her emergence in the saddle has been criticised in some racing quarters.
Retired seven-times former champion jumps jockey John Francome said Pendleton was “an accident waiting to happen” on a racecourse after she was unseated at Fakenham last month.
But Pendleton, speaking at a press conference in London, said: “It is not a decision I have taken lightly – I feel capable of being part of that race.
“The whole journey has been a remarkable experience and I have a lot of lasting memories from the last 12 months”
Nicholls praised the enthusiasm of Pendleton and pointed to what he described as her “absolutely incredible” improvement.
The champion trainer said: “From the start, the enthusiasm and encouragement Victoria has shown has been to the fore.
“The improvement from month to month has been absolutely incredible. We’ve put her in the deep end a bit with Pacha Du Polder.
“At the beginning I was a little bit dubious about the whole thing, but to be fair to her she has improved so much that I think she is now ready for the challenge.