Pendleton set for today's 'big-race occasion' Victoria Pendleton will face five rivals as she bids for a first win under Rules, as well as an inaugural success in the racing world, in the Betfair Switching Saddles "Grassroots" Fox Hunters' Chase at Fakenham on Friday. The dual Olympic champion cyclist announced last March that she was embarking on the Betfair-backed challenge to make the transition from velodrome to racecourse, with the ultimate aim of riding at the Cheltenham Festival. Following a handful of rides on the Flat, as well as a number of mounts in the point-to-point field, Pendleton now makes her debut over regulation fences aboard the Paul Nicholls-trained Pacha Du Polder at the Norfolk venue. The nine-year-old, who finished second in the Fox Hunters' Chase at Aintree last term, has also been earmarked as Pendleton's intended Festival ride in the St James's Place Foxhunter Chase on March 18. She told BBC Radio 2 : "It's my first hunter chase so it's quite a big-race occasion for me, bigger fences on a real racecourse. "I'm really looking forward to it. I've loved every second of learning to ride and racing, and racing over jumps is a massive thrill." When asked about the biggest challenge in racing compared to cycling, Pendleton said: "Having no brakes, probably. "I'm so used to coming from a sport where everything is controlled, measured and monitored to something where you kind of have to go, 'OK, please can you respond to me?'. "The horse doesn't necessarily have to listen to you, so you have to just relax and go with it a little bit. "I guess it's letting go a little bit." Despite Pendleton's relative inexperience, she is still eager to make the line-up for the amateurs' Gold Cup at the Festival, but her sporting ambitions do not end there, either. She added: "I'm hoping to ride at the Cheltenham Festival but there's a group of experts deciding whether they think I'm competent enough in the next couple of weeks, but that is my ultimate goal. "I've got a massive list of sports I'd like to learn - actually I'd really like to learn how to box, that is on my list." Pacha Du Polder is one of just six horses that go to post in the three-mile event, with the Nicholls runner officially rated 11lb superior to the next best, the Martin Weston-trained Vasco Du Mee. Pendleton will be claiming the full 7lb as she also takes on Can Mestret, Good Egg, Wiffy Chatsby and Baltic Blue.
