ALL of the attention may be on Olympic champion Victoria Pendleton at the Cheltenham Festival tomorrow, but one Herefordshire rider hopes the spotlight will be on her.

Lucy Turner, from Hoarwithy, is set to compete against Pendleton in the Foxhunter Steeplechase.

Pendleton – who won two Olympic gold medals during a glittering career in cycling - decided to become a jockey last year.

She will ride Pacha Du Polder in the Foxhunter Steeplechase – the race immediately after Gold Cup – while Turner will be aboard Richmond.

"She [Pendleton] has come so far and she is an Olympic champion, so she has already got the mental focus that is needed," said Turner, who is trained by Venetia Williams,

"She is no stranger to having the spotlight on her, so I wish her all the best."

Turner said Richmond will need a bit of luck during the race, but is hopeful he will perform well.

"As long as he can have a good clear run of jumping, then that is all I can of him," said Turner.

"May be the ground will be a bit quick for him by the end of the week and it seems to be drying up all the time, but he could have chance."

Turner, who has been riding since she was four, says it will be a dream to race at Cheltenham.

"It is very exciting because there is such a buzz there and the atmosphere will be amazing," she said.

Meanwhile, Herefordshire entrepreneur Mark Blandford is hoping his weekend will get off to the best possible start when his horse defends his Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase Challenge Cup tomorrow.

Next Sensation, who is trained by Bromsash-based Michael Scudamore, won the race by four lengths last year and has good form at Cheltenham having finished fourth in 2014.

Blandford is one of the benefactors who have pumped £50,000 into Hereford FC and will be at Salisbury on Saturday to hopefully cheer the Bulls on to a date at Wembley in the FA Vase. But first stop is Cheltenham.

"He is a front-runner type, so he has a good chance," said Blandford.

"Everything went right last year with the possible exception of the ground, but he handled the wetter conditions better than we thought.

"He had a small wind operation that helps his breath and generally his team have been very happy with them.

"He is an extremely fit horse."

Another horse who is tipped to do very well is Thistlecrack, who is the hot favourite to win the Ryanair World Hurdle today.

The horse will be ridden by Tom Scudamore, who has never won at the Festival. 

A sister of Thistlecrack, owned by owned by Robin and Scarlett Knipe, from Allensmore, will also be offered for sale on the hallowed turf of the famous Winners Enclosure three hours after the race.

The auction will be led by Leominster-based Tattersalls Ireland, who are the world's leading national hunt auctioneers.

“The county of Herefordshire has a rich affiliation with the Cheltenham Festival and it is tremendously exciting to be offering her for sale," said auctioneer Richard Botterill.

"The catalogue will offer a select collection of 24 horses that are expected to sell at an average price of £100,000.”