Victoria Pendleton is set to step up her bid to ride at Cheltenham next month with an outing on Pacha Du Polder at Fakenham.
The double Olympic gold medallist has taken up horse riding in the last 12 months and has already impressed in the saddle on the Flat and in point-to-points.
However, her ultimate ambition is to take part in the St James’s Place Foxhunter Chase at the Cheltenham Festival next month and she is set to make her debut at Fakenham on board Pacha Du Polder on February 19 in preparation.
Trainer Paul Nicholls says the William Bulwer-Long Memorial Grassroots Fox Hunters’ Chase is the ideal race for Pendleton and he expects her to handle the step up.
He told Betfair: “Fakenham is the logical target after their excellent debut together when they failed by inches to land a point-to-point at Milborne St Andrew on January 31.
“It is important for Victoria to gain experience in a hunter chase before considering a tilt at the ultimate challenge of riding in the St James’s Place Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham in March.
“The race over three miles at Fakenham, an easy track, looks ideal and comes at a perfect time before Cheltenham.
“Pacha Du Polder is a very classy chaser, a brilliant jumper, travels well in his races, has smart form over Aintree‘s National fences and showed he stayed three miles at Milborne St Andrew.”
He added: “Frankly, the improvement Victoria has made since she began this odyssey is phenomenal and she now looks the part when she comes down to Ditcheat to ride on our gallops.
“Should Victoria reach Cheltenham, her and Pacha Du Polder are more than capable of finishing in the first six.”
