CHELTENHAM: Natives bounce off rails to take fashion stakes
Last year, 24-year-old Margaret Connolly from Multyfarnham in Westmeath bagged the title of Best Dressed on Ladies’ Day with a stylish cream and brown ensemble boasting brands such as House of Fraser, Lilli Ann, and Dorothy Perkins.
No such luck on this occasion. On yesterday’s evidence, it seems as if our cousins across the Irish Sea may have left us trailing in their wake when it comes to matters of personal style.
Not all, it must be said. Among the usual offerings of feathers and fur, there were also some staggeringly ill-advised efforts. One young woman turned up with a plunging neck line that went all the way down to her navel.
Most, mercifully, chose more seasonal fare.
Princess Anne, accompanied by her daughter Zara Phillips, walked about the parade ring in a brown coat, an assortment of broaches and a snazzy pair of wraparound shades bearing the logo of Team GB from last year’s Olympic Games.
As always, the fashion police were out in force as soon as the gates opened at 10.30am, seeking out the daring and the divine with awards awaiting for best dressed, best hat, and best accessories.
The winners boasted postcodes from here in Prestbury, Staffordshire, and Bristol and, kudos aside, the lucky few got to go home with bespoke handmade sheepskin capes, £1,000 gift vouchers, bottles of champagne, and a knitted fur jacket imported from Paris, no less.
That said, it would be hard to envisage the champagne lasting beyond the front gates.
Such is the life expectancy of alcohol in these parts on these days, and there was much to toast with four more Irish winners after three on the opening day.
Willie Mullins, as is his wont, chalked up two of them: The opener courtesy of his son Patrick, who rode Back in Focus home, and then the last with a certain Ruby Walsh bringing Briar Hill in at a tasty 25/1.
The Gordon Elliott-trained Flaxen Flame, piloted by Davy Condon, claimed the preceding race at identical odds, while the most notable success came in the RSA Chase with Davy Russell and Lord Windermere coming home first.
“This is what it’s all about, it’s why I’m training horses,” said Jim Culloty, the Kerry-born, Cork-domiciled former jockey who is now one of the few men to claim Festival garlands as a jockey and a trainer.
The day had dawned cold but less unforgiving than the Tuesday, when the wind blew through the venue with a vengeance, and there were even rare spells of warmth to be enjoyed as the sunshine broke through the cloud cover.
As the minutes ticked away to the first race, the New York Brass Band broke into a rendition of A-Ha’s classic ’80s hit Take on Me, which seemed a fitting soundtrack given the dominance of both Mullins and Walsh the day before.
The Kildare rider had joked after his third win two days ago that punters clapping him on the back might soon be cussing him if the wins dried up and, for a time, they may well have as his mounts faded into the backfield of the imagination.
Claiming the last will have softened those blows, all the more so as it edges him closer to what would be a scarcely believable seventh leading jockey title and five in the last six years.
Walsh and co were watched by the usual sprinkling of celebs, among them Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who co-owns I’m Fraam Govan, a five-year-old that ran in the Champion Bumper at the day’s end.
Ferguson is a noted horse lover and has dabbled in the trade for years now but he will hardly have been happy to see his mount trailing in a disappointing 20th place which, in footballing parlance, would result in relegation.
*1.30 Dynaste
*2.05 Sam Winner
*2.40 First Lieutenant (next best)
*3.20 Oscar Whisky (nap)
*4.00 Ballynagour
*4.40 Super Duty
*5.15 Arabella Boy
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