The Daily Mail’s notoriety precedes it, particularly when it comes to snapping and shaming what it perceives as less than demurely dressed young women having a good time and a few drinks.

When the Grand National rolls around each year, its reporters have a field day sticking the knife in on the outfit choices of men and women across the region who just want to pull their glad-rags on and enjoy a day out with their nearest and dearest.

So when a colleague alerted the rest of the newsroom to the fact that Chester Races has cropped up on MailOnline’s radar, it seemed odds-on that the coverage wasn’t going to be overly positive.

“Here come the girls! Chester racegoers flash the flesh as they take advantage of the sunny weather and the VERY relaxed dress code at the May Festival,” the headline announces.

And here comes the sneering attack on our racegoers and a series of back-handed compliments barely disguising the paper’s anti-fun agenda.

Case in point, the ‘story’ states: “They operate a far less strict dress code than other equestrian events like Royal Ascot.

“And female guests took full advantage of the relaxed sartorial guidelines at Chester today as they gathered for the annual race meeting.”

Except there’s a vast gulf between the pictures and the copy supposedly explaining what said pictures show.

I can’t spot anyone who’s turned up looking anything less than polished and put together, nor can I see anyone ‘ensuring every inch of flesh was on show’.

The mysterious Mail Online Reporter’s prudish side reveals itself once again in highlighting the revellers who had the audacity to enjoy a glass of bubbly, then put on a ‘raunchy display for the cameras’.

Erm, where’s the raunch?

Come on MailOnline, you’ll have to do better than that.

Of the hundreds and even thousands of professional photos captured on Chester Cup Day, the Mail included just nine in a misguided and miserable attempt to pour scorn on our ladies.

Rather than focus on their supposedly relaxed attire, why not mention that every one of the racegoers is wearing a beaming smile and clearly having good old-fashioned – and inoffensive – fun.

So why isn’t the headline something more like ‘Revellers turn out to enjoy a sun-drenched day at Chester Races’.

Because the Mail is appealing to the lowest common denominator – when once we had the stocks and rotten vegetables, we now have the Daily Mail.

Well, here’s the Chronicle’s verdict – we think they looked GREAT.

Which is why we’ll be celebrating the racegoers who flock to our city and support our economy, not trying to humiliate them.