Sunshine helps ladies step out in style at races

SATURDAY may have been Ladies Day at this year’s Curragh racing festival but it was yesterday’s Budweiser Derby that drew the seriously stylish in their droves.

Record temperatures saw record crowds descend on the biggest event in the summer racing calendar with more than 30,000 racegoers stepping out in style.

A series of private suites were populated by some of the biggest names in racing, including the Aga Khan, John Magnier and Sean Mulryan, but it was outside on the stands, around the parade ring and lounging al fresco in the glorious sunshine that was a priority for most.

Pink champagne was the order of the day as some of the brightest, most stunning summer dresses and ensembles floated about, far exceeding the previous day’s Pretty Polly event at the same racecourse.

A group of the country’s best-known women opted for various shades of blue, pink, white and cream, as Philip Treacy hats and glorious feathered headpieces were in abundance.

Among those spotted taking in the splendour of the occasion were newsreader Anne Doyle, Minister for Arts and Culture John O’Donoghue, TV presenter Alan Hughes and producer Debbie O’Donnell, who looked ravishing in a chocolate brown Belle de Troupe chiffon creation.

Just before the derby got underway in the afternoon, the Three Tenors took to the parade ring in full black-tie regalia to perform The Curragh of Kildare, and were joined in verse by the massive crowd surrounding them outside the various private pavilions.

“The crowd is loving it but the lads must be sweltering in their formal dress,” said Tamso Doyle from Horse Racing Ireland.

The big story of the day centred on racing magnate John Magnier, whose entries Hurricane Run and Scorpion came in first and second respectively in the main race.

The winning horse had just recently been bought by Magnier but was raced in the colours of its previous owner. “It’s been a magnificent day, I’ve been planning what I was going to wear for the past couple of months and I wouldn’t have missed the occasion for anything in the world,” commented well-known marketing executive Anne Corcoran.

Following the day’s racing, most people headed to the nearby Brown’s Barn venue to continue their celebrations.