Black and white classic wins by a head at races

THE hats may have been creative, colourful and attention-seeking, but it was a woman in a striking black and white dress that most impressed in the haute couture stakes, at Killarney Races.

A delighted Rachel Thorley, from Cheshire, became the first English winner of the Dawn Dairies Queen Fashion competition and nobody seemed more surprised than herself.

“I’m just overwhelmed, a nervous wreck. When I saw so much glamour around I thought I hadn’t a chance,” confided the beautician, who was accompanied by her partner, David, and a large group of friends, on Ladies’ Day.