Cheltenham changes need to work - racing cannot afford for the festival to be anything less than the pinnacle

Just before and just after this year’s Cheltenham Festival, new chief executive Guy Lavender wanted three things to be known: there was a huge amount of passion for the fixture, he was listening to concerns about it and customers would be central to his ambitions.

With that message delivered and the jumps season finished in April, Lavender and his team have since been busy attempting to action these aims for the forthcoming months, and the fruits of this labour were revealed by the Jockey Club on Tuesday.

As such, this can be considered phase two of Lavender’s plans, to borrow a phrase, although the hope for everyone must be that it proves to be a more auspicious step than the prime minister’s.