Victoria Pendleton’s third appearance as a point-to point-jockey produced a day of notable firsts for the former Olympic cyclist. For the first time she had more than one ride on the same day, she completed the course and she enjoyed the experience of dismounting in the enclosure reserved for the first four, rather than next to the horseboxes with the unplaced runners.
Finishing in first place still seems a distant prospect, however, and Pendleton conceded that she cannot be sure of taking part at the Cheltenham Festival in two months’ time, having missed out on a certain amount of practice over the past month for reasons including an injury she sustained in a fall while schooling. “If I’m ready, I’m ready but, if I’m not, I’ll take the advice of people around me and hold off and maybe try again next year,” she said as she left this track close to Exeter.
“It’s been a little bit slow after Christmas but I’m very positive,” she added and that positivity had indeed been clear to see during the afternoon. Both her mounts spent time in the lead and, on her way to a fourth-place finish on Supreme Danehill in the opening race, Pendleton’s body language throughout left no doubt that she was determined to complete.
When the tape went up, she had the eight-year-old in the front rank and hard against the inside, saving substantial ground at the turn for home on both circuits. There was evidence of aggression and commitment here that was not seen in her first two rides in early December.
Supreme Danehill lost a shoe with a circuit to go, which connections felt may have contributed to him going rather wide round one bend and losing his prominent position, but Pendleton still had him close to the favourite when that one unseated. Though obviously beaten a fair way from home, he was by no means tailed off in fourth of the five to get round.
By the time of Pendleton’s second ride, on According To Sarah, a filthy sky had descended to a point where it seemed barely 50 yards above the back straight. On a day when many spectators’ cars had to be pulled to the nearest road by tractor, steady rain made for attritional conditions which According To Sarah did not relish.
A 25-1 shot in a competitive event, the mare set a strong pace for a circuit and a half before tiring. To no one’s surprise she was eased to a walk between the final two fences.
“What I wanted to do was complete,” Pendleton said. “That was the goal of the day and I did, on a horse that I sat on once before.” Supreme Danehill was bought nine days ago by Betfair, who devised and sponsor Pendleton’s “switching saddles” project, the horse having been sourced specifically for this purpose by Tom Malone, one of jump racing’s most successful bloodstock agents.
While he did the job for his rookie jockey here, Supreme Danehill had not been quite so well behaved in the week, when he reared during work at Alan Hill’s Oxfordshire stable, dropping Pendleton and returning to the yard without her. According To Sarah has also had her unpredictable moments, being the animal involved in the following Pendleton anecdote.
“I had a horse at the last minute decide not to go over the jump but to go round it,” recalled the former Olympian. “I had so much momentum, three strides out, that I took the whole wing out. Fortunately, they’re made to explode and it cradled me to the ground but I corked my calf on the wooden stakes holding it in place. I got straight back on and jumping again but it stiffened up a little bit and I was a bit too stiff last weekend to ride.”
A riding school cliche insists that one is not a proper rider until one has had 99 falls, so such incidents might be seen as reassuring proof that Pendleton is making significant progress. She will now seek as much experience as possible over the eight weeks that remain before Cheltenham and hopes to be in action on both days next weekend.
The original plan was for her backers to name her intended Festival mount here but that is apparently still the subject of some backstage negotiations. More may be revealed on Monday. It could be that somebody somewhere needed to see further evidence of improvement from Pendleton, which her first completion may well have provided.
“I’ve been very impressed with her the last couple of weeks,” reported Joe Hill, son of Alan and himself a veteran of 40-odd point-to-point wins. “She’s a lot more aware than she was. She’s very good schooling. Her eye for a stride is very good and so is her balance over a fence. Everything’s going well. If we can just keep ticking over, keep getting her rides …”
