Eton mess for Cornelius

RADIO 5 LIVE’s peerless racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght’s poor A Level results are revealed in a new book about his eccentric eton history master Michael Kidson.

The Enigma of Kidson (Quiller, £25) contains a letter commiserating with Cornelius about his poor grades. Kidson, who died in 2015, wrote: ‘Yours were undistinguished certainly and I hope you are not too disappointed. You can’t be a very clever old thing. But the world doesn’t hinge on A level results, so don’t be too depressed.’

Meanwhile, Ascot are to hold a full scale review into their media operations before their contract with Racing UK expires in 2019. The alliance with Racing UK has always seemed a difficult fit for the independently-minded Ascot, who might revert to rival specialist channel At The Races.

There is also a long-term possibility that Ascot could go their own way on the TV front amid concern about the way Jockey Club-owned courses have the biggest voice within the Racecourse Media Group, who control Racing UK. MATT CHAPMAN, irritant ITV betting pundit, believed he was being complimentary to jockey Racheal Kneller when he said during At The Races’ coverage of Windsor last Monday: ‘She can be on holiday one minute then riding the next, but she certainly can ride and is quite talented. Come on — dedication — that’s what we need.’ But Kneller raged: ‘How dare Matt question my dedication, which he knows absolutely nothing about. It’s really quite disgraceful.’