John Francome remains concerned for Victoria Pendleton's safety

Francome claimed last month that the double Olympic champion cyclist “can’t ride” and wants “saving from herself” after she was unseated from Pacha Du Polder on her first start over regulation fences at Fakenham.

Pendleton, 35, went some way to silencing the naysayers at Wincanton on Wednesday when she made all of the running aboard the same horse to claim a first victory as a jockey. Her maiden success sharply brought back into focus the possibility of riding the Paul Nicholls-trained Pacha Du Polder in the St James’s Place Foxhunter Chase at the Cheltenham Festival on March 18.

An announcement will be made on Monday, with Nicholls saying that Pendleton is “more than qualified” to compete in a race that is staged over the Gold Cup course and distance.

But when asked if he felt Pendleton was still an accident waiting to happen in the saddle, Francome was unrepentant: “Absolutely, yes.”

He added: “Every time she gets round in one piece, I’m absolutely delighted, but I’ll leave it the people who are advising her. She won, and I’ve done nothing but wish her well.”

Francome’s argument is shared by many – Pendleton only took up the sport a year ago and lacks the requisite experience of riders steeped in racing. Furthermore Pendleton enjoyed an uncontested lead at Wincanton – she will almost certainly be denied this in the hurly burly of Cheltenham.

British Horseracing Authority chief executive Nick Rust hailed a “truly historic” intention from the Government to replace the Levy betting system by April 2017 with a system that reflects the growing popularity of online gambling.

In a seismic overhaul that could see up to £30m of additional income poured into the industry, bookmakers would be forced to contribute to Levy from profits taken in betting shops and online.

Rust, who has horses in training with Middleham-based Micky Hammond, said: “The new funding model will ensure a fair transfer of funding to British racing based on all betting activity on the sport – a link that was first established in law in 1961.”

Chancellor George Osborne last year proposed a ‘Racing Right’ to replace the Levy and could further expand on the new proposals in the Budget on March 16 – ironically on day two of the Cheltenham Festival, which is the biggest betting week of the year in racing. Rust has been working hard to fill the void in the interim after having imposed an Authorised Betting Partner (ABP) policy, which requires bookmakers to pay racing an agreed chunk of the profits they make from racing bets online.

Betfair, bet365, 32Red and BetVictor have so far signed up to the new system, with the four bookmakers having agreed to make voluntary contributions from their remote activity.

Other established bookmakers like Ladbrokes, Betfred, Coral, William Hill and Paddy Power have yet to agree to ABP status.

THE potential presence of More Of That in the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival is alleviating some of the pressure off No More Heroes’ trainer Gordon Elliott.

The Irish trainer has been delighted with his unbeaten novice chaser this season, none more so than when he worked with stablemate and Gold Cup favourite Don Cossack after racing at Leopardstown on Sunday.

With two Grade One wins under his belt, No More Heroes does not lack class, but Elliott feels Jonjo O’Neill’s 2014 World Hurdle hero More Of That should be favourite.

He said: “I thought he was very good in Leopardstown.

“He was a bit big over the first one or two, that’s why we wanted to get him up there as he hasn’t run since Christmas.

“If we get him there in one piece we’ll be looking forward to it, but I’m not sure he should be favourite. More Of That is a World Hurdle winner and is four from four around Cheltenham.

“Having a horse like that in the race takes a bit of pressure off me.”