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.