Victoria Pendleton has divided the racing world as to whether she is ready to ride in the Foxhunter Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in less than four weeks’ time.
Took a tumble
Following a number of point-to-point rides, the former Olympic cyclist was the favourite in her first professional jump race last week (19 January) at Fakenham.
However, she took at tumble at the seventh fence, which has seen a number of prominent racing professionalsspeak out against her riding at Cheltenham.
Seven-times champion jockey John Francome told The GuardianthatVictoria “wants saving from herself”, while British Racing School jockey coach Steve Smith Eccles described her as “loose in the saddle”.
“I’d like to see her a bit more compact,” said Steve, who won Cheltenham’s Champion Hurdle three times. “It’s hard to explain to non-riders but you can soon see whether a jockey has a good position in the saddle or is loose.”
Up to the challenge
According to Victoria’s team, footage of the fall revealed another horse in the race clipped her foot with his hindleg, pushing her out of the saddle. Yogi Breisner, who has been teaching Victoria since she first took up riding last March, said there was “no doubt” she was knocked out of the saddle.
While Victoria is still keen to ride in the Foxhunter Chase, it is her trainers who will decide if she is up to the challenge.
“If I’m not ready, I’m not ready,” she told the Racing Post. “Ultimately there are a group of experts behind me and I will trust their judgement 100 percent and if it’s not meant to be this year then it’s not meant to be.
“It makes no odds if I do it again another time and I’d like to see anyone else give it a go and get this far.”
‘Key stage’
Eight-times champion trainer Paul Nicols is one of her supporters, and he provided the ride of Pacha Du Polder for her Hunter Chase debut at Fakenham. This is the horse she will ride should she make it to Cheltenham and Paul has said they are “more than capable of finishing in the first six”.
However, he told the Racing Post that her first ride under rules was a “key stage”in her preparation. So this fall could have cost her a place in the big race next month.
Switching Saddles
The Foxhunter Chase is run over the same course and distance as the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which is the one of the most prestigious jump races in the world. Add to that 24 tough, amateur jockeys, with decades of race experience, battling it out for £40,000 of prize money and you can see why many think it’s risky letting Victoria take part.
It’s perhaps comparable to riding in a BE80 competition one year and aiming for Badminton the next. No matter how good your horse is, you won’t have the experience, the balance or the technique to get both of you home safely.
Let’s not forget – it’s not just the sport of racing that is new to the former cyclist, she had never even sat on a horse before she took up the ‘Switching Saddles’ challenge, just 11 months ago.
Fearless or foolhardy?
What the two-time Olympic gold medal winner lacks in experience, she makes up for in guts and determination. Just two days after her fall she got back in the saddle, and rode in a point-to-point at Higham in Suffolk where she finished last of six runners in the Ladies’ Open.
Victoria is due to ride Pacha Du Polder again next week, and trainer Paul has said if they jump clear she will be “back on track” for Cheltenham.
Even if she doesn’t get to achieve her ultimate goal, the 35-year-old said she will carry on riding in point-to-point races and is even designing her own silks.
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