The fashion at this year’s racing festival at Killarney has brought a splash of colour to the racecourse.

THE Australian Svengali Lynton Crosby, who has led right-of-centre election campaigns around the world and is credited with David Cameron’s unexpected Commons majority two years ago, has contrived to reduce the British general election battle to one simple but excluding question: “Who do you want to lead Britain, Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn? Personality rather than policy is the battleground.

It’s a week that feels like a year but the ome stretch is in sight after we got over the hump of Ladies Day.

The gods sent the sun yesterday — well, kind of — as the real racing business of the week arrived: the Galway Plate.

It was a double win for Munster in the style stakes at Ladies Day in the RDS Horse Show yesterday. Claire Murphy from Kerry won best dressed lady while Raymond Gilbourne from Cork was best dressed man.

Five fun things to do around Ireland this weekend.

From worst behaved to best dressed — you get all sorts flocking to Cheltenham.

Races yesterday saw lots of frills and fashion as well as thrills on the racing front.

Racing took a back seat in Galway yesterday as folk with a passion for fashion flocked to Ballybrit.

Bryan Cooper followed-up Monday’s win on The Game Changer with a superb treble in sunny Roscommon last night, providing Gigginstown House Stud with a double on Gangster and Cape Glory before following-up on Phangio for Colin Bowe.

1 Push the boat out

The Ado McGuinness-trained filly Roco Roja, impressive on her debut in Killarney two weeks ago, proved the star of last night’s Gowran Park action, landing the five-runner Ladies Day June 20 Fillies race in emphatic style.

Forget about the bookies and the nags, the thunder of hooves and the cheers of punters.

Irish punters will splash an estimated €30m on the Grand National today as racing legend AP McCoy bows out of the sport.

It was Ladies Day at sunny Fairyhouse yesterday as 20/1 shot Thunder And Roses captured the Boylesports Irish Grand National for Katie Walsh and Sandra Hughes.

Clear victory in terms of style on Ladies Day but track delivers a more mixed return for Irish jockeys

A Ladies Day crowd on the Knavesmire yesterday was left as surprised as connections of Taghrooda as the unbeaten record of a filly that had looked little short of exceptional was ended by Tapestry in the Darley Yorkshire Oaks.

The good old days might not be quite back, but if the Galway Races is anything to go by, we might not have long to wait.

It arrived in a blaze of hats, heels, and alcohol, the day women love and men love to hate — it can only be Ladies Day in Galway.

A glamorous woman who "took a risk’’ with her outfit stood out in monochrome and was first past the post in the style stakes at Killarney Races, yesterday.

Thousands of traditional music aficionados are due to visit Killarney for the Munster Fleadh Cheoil which kicked off officially last night.

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring was still in the saddle when he launched the 141st show in the RDS, Dublin, yesterday.

It’s race season and stakes are high. Do you have that Ladies Day winning look?

Trainer/rider Denis Hogan completed a double with odds-on favourite San Gabriel and Ocean Glandore at Ballinrobe last night.

I’m Yours executed Dermot Weld’s well-laid plan to give the in-form trainer another victory in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Victor McCalmont Memorial Stakes at Gowran Park yesterday.

The Irish spent the second day at the Cheltenham Festival struggling to make up ground on the locals who claimed five of the seven races and it was a case of much the same off the track on Ladies Day.

One of the biggest events in the horse racing calendar gets under way today as thousands of punters descend on Cheltenham for Gold Cup week.

An €800 dress stolen from a Tralee boutique and recovered by “a plain clothes detective” at Listowel races a week ago is to be auctioned for charity, the boutique owner confirmed.

The Mullins brothers, Tony and Willie, and cousins, Danny and Emmet, were on the mark with Sam Da Vinci and Dr.Schultz respectively at yesterday’s Bank Holiday meeting in Downpatriclk.

Double Seven, trained for J P McManus by Martin Brassil, landed the €50,000 Gigginstown House Midlands National in dramatic circumstances at Kilbeggan last night.

The Kevin Prendergast-trained Daymooma opened her account in the Irish Stallion Farms Fillies Maiden before a huge crowd in Ballinrobe last night.

Luck went with the Irish on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival as even the weather could not spoil the racing.

Our Vinnie displayed his customary stamina and toughness to land the Grade 3 Liberty Insurance Novice Hurdle narrowly in Limerick yesterday.

Whether it’s judging Roses, the women’s fashion stakes or the horses, TV presenter DáithíÓ Sé tends to take it all in his stride.

The four-legged stars had to take a back seat at the Dublin Horse Show as the country’s snappiest ladies fought to put in a fault-free round to take the best-dressed honours.

Kanturk is officially out of recession after the whole town came to Galway, raided the big race and bolted back to north Cork with their pockets bulging.

Former champion Pat Smullen was seen at his brilliant and determined best when getting odds-on favourite Ceol Rua home a narrow winner of the Ladies Day At Ballinrobe Maiden in Ballinrobe last night.

The progressive Primroseandblue gets the nap in the Wellingtonbridge Novice Hurdle at Wexford tonight.

The catwalk queens have had their day. Today Aintree reverts to a venerable old battlefield of dreams and punting pin-stickers as experts-for-the-day have an annual flutter on the Grand National.