Minister emerges from the lion's den at Cheltenham - but clarity for racing is still a few weeks away

It would be fair to say that last week's Cheltenham Festival was not without its wrinkles as far as the Jockey Club was concerned.

The usual complaints about prices and queues were augmented by the experiences of those stuck in the car parks and also an atmosphere described by many as worryingly flat for the first two days.

Even more surprising was the storm in a teacup whipped up by the decision to brand the second day of the meeting as 'Style Wednesday' rather than Ladies' Day, a decision former culture secretary Nadine Dorries decided could have come about only due to pressure from, and I quote, "the powerful trans lobby".