Stealing the horses’ thunder, they set pulses racing

METICULOUSLY groomed, shapely of leg, but unlikely to break into a canter, the ladies that yesterday tottered around Ballybrit proved you didn’t have to be a horse to enter the Galway Races.

Dazzling with headwear displays of flora, normally the preserve of the Botanic Gardens, they stole the horses’ thunder and set punters’ pulses racing.

Head-turning hats, Sex in the City Shoes, low-cut necklines and tiered hemlines, there was something for everyone in the audience. For my part, I donned a little black number, in a rare effort to dress up. I shouldn’t have bothered. It was akin to turning up in school uniform at a debutante’s ball.

The parade ring where the ladies primped and preened was an exotic ensemble of colour and daring cuts, reducing my black boots to the status of wellies in a sea of strappy sandals.

Hand-picked by fashion scouts and nominated for entry, they gathered in a cool cream marquee, waiting for the off.

Unfortunately, the off coincided with the off of the Guinness Galway Hurdle, the biggest race of the day. As Naahill and Batang topped off my losses, Cloone River romped home, costing the bookies a fortune. With more than €1 million in bets on him between bookies and tote, it was the largest amount every bet on a race in Ireland.

Passing the post to cries of whoohoo yeaahey, punters raced for their winnings as bookies blasted their luck. Official confirmation of winners tied in with the emergence of the best dressed person from the fashion parade ring into their equivalent of the winners’ enclosure. What greeted them was a taste of what feted male Hollywood stars must regularly experience - women, in their thousands, craning for a glimpse, oohing and aahing and clamouring over each other, straining to see the hottest outfits in town.

Thrilled with a winner from Galway, they applauded and lauded Mary Kelly with praise, as she exited first from the stalls.

Nowhere in sight was John Coleman, a carpenter from Tuam and winner of the Best Dressed Man. Kitted out in cream and brown pinstripe, open-necked white shirt and Stetson hat, his enthusiasm was overwhelming - so overwhelming he had disappeared from the judges’ tent before the winners were announced, losing himself in the more than 37,000 that crowded Ballybrit and denying himself €200 euro. Many of those who made the effort to improve the scenery trackside were rewarded.

As many as 25 women were presented with Versace goodie bags: enclosed a bottle of Versace Jeans Couture Woman perfume and a complimentary Versace make-over from makeup artists at University Pharmacy, Galway.

In truth, it was a great day out for the ladies and a treat for the many men who had deliberately picked Ladies Day for a turn at the races. Gambling, drinking and exquisitely turned-out women. If Carlsberg did races, they’d probably do the Galway Races.