I spoke to Victoria Pendleton before her winning ride at Wincanton on Wednesday and couldn’t help but be impressed.

She is clearly used to pressure cooker situations – the Olympics after all is the pinnacle of sport – but she was genuinely excited and absolutely buzzing.

Both her and horse put up a very good performance and in all likelihood she will now line up at the Cheltenham Festival. Having started from scratch a year ago, this represents a remarkable achievement. Even her harshest critics would struggle to find faults in how she rode this week.

Her post-race interview exposed her genuine love for horses and racing and that’s a tremendous positive for the sport.

I don’t understand why there are some who feel aggrieved that she has been handed this opportunity.

She has earned this chance because of her monumental achievements in cycling. Victoria is not the first Olympic Gold Medallist to be offered an endorsement or sponsorship opportunity, but it is clear this is more than just a financial opportunity to her.

She has spoken of how she wants to be involved with the sport for the long-term and racing has found a fantastic ambassador. Well done to her for seizing the moment and all that hard work is really paying off.

The other big news of the week is Government’s intention to introduce a new funding mechanism for next year. I am not sure of the ins and outs of it all, and we still don’t know the full details, but if it means an extra £30million coming into the sport, then well done to all those who have helped to make it happen.

Hopefully the extra income finds its way into the grass roots of the sport and the stable staff in particular. They are dedicated to their horses but receive very little reward for their long hours and dedication.

Prize-money obviously needs a boost too. Speaking as a jockey, I am fortunate that I have a few regular trainers which means I usually have a decent number of rides each day, but some have to travel up and down the country for only one ride. They need to make sure it’s a winning one to make that day pay such is the poor prize-money on offer at some tracks. How some jockeys survive is beyond me.

It’s a quiet weekend of racing with the highlight being Newbury's stanjames.com Greatwood Gold Cup, in which I ride Off The Ground for Charlie Longsdon.

He has some very good form in the book and some form-lines would put him right there. Charlie’s horses are also in cracking form so there are plenty of plusses. However, he is not the most consistent so you couldn’t back Off The Ground with whole-hearted confidence.

I ride stablemate Pete The Feat for Charlie in the veterans’ race. He’s a grand old servant who was second to La Reve in a decent race at Sandown last time. A repeat of that would put him right there.

Charlie also runs Wells De Lune in the Ladbrokes Supporting Greatwood Handicap Hurdle. He had been very keen in his races so was fitted with eyeshield and tongue-time at Fontwell last time and duly bolted up.

Hopefully he’s turned a corner now and has a 7lb penalty to carry off bottom-weight. He certainly catches the eye.

I am Huntingdon on Sunday, where Centurius would have a decent chance if I can get him to relax in the maiden hurdle, while London Prize could be my best chance of the weekend in the closing bumper.

Aidan Coleman is sponsored by Racing UK, which is launching its HD Channel on Sky 432 on March 7. Visit racinguk.com/hd for more.