Irish ladies turn heads in fashion stakes

WHILE it may have been a nightmare for the Irish at Cheltenham yesterday, at least the ladies got to turn out in style.

While the competition was fierce out on the track, it was especially fierce outside the railings as hundreds of women vied for the title of Best Dressed Lady.

Ladies Day at Cheltenham is known for offering up a fashionable array of flamboyant outfits which manage to turn heads away from the horses.

Hats, feathers and flowers were everywhere to be seen in a sun-soaked Ladies Day.

There was a little more luck to be had in the fashion stakes, with Bernadette O’Sullivan from Killarney in Kerry winning the prize for Best Accessory.

Irish punters had very little luck on a day described as a “bloodbath” for punters.

Bookies William Hill estimating loses of €5 million for the unlucky Irish punters.

It could have been a lot worse for the punters had Ruby Walsh not guided Big Buck’s home in the feature race the day the World Hurdle.

One lucky William Hill punter from Dublin placed €22,000 on Big Buck’s at odds of 8-11 and collected €38,000 after the Paul Nicholls trained horse won the race.

The rest of the results were shocking for the Irish – with outsiders winning the remaining five races on Day 3 of the Festival.

Today is the final day of the festival, and Irish punters are expected to place about €10 million on the big race – the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The 8-11 favourite for the race is Ruby Walsh’s mount Kauto Star who will be bidding to win his third Gold Cup.

William Hill’s Irish spokesman Tony Kenny said it had been a dream meeting for the bookies.

“Today was another bloodbath for Irish punters, but it could have been a whole lot worse if Big Buck’s hadn’t won the World Hurdle. It’s been a dream meeting for the bookies, however, the punters could get a lot of their loses back if Kauto Star wins the big race on Friday,” he said.

Big Buck’s mount Ruby Walsh was full of praise for his horse as it achieved back-to-back victories in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle.

“He’s a special horse. He’s absolutely bolted in. He’s a horse that doesn’t want to be in front too long. I knew the ones I fancied, like Karabak, would follow me though,” he said.