Grey skies fail to dampen Ladies Day

Grey skies fail to dampen Ladies Day


Michael Duffy

THE sunshine failed to appear at Ballinrobe Racecourse on Sunday afternoon but the large crowd refused to let the unpredictable weather dampen their spirits as some top class racing action and a large entry for the Best Dressed Lady competition made for a busy afternoon.
The overall winner of the Best Dressed Lady competition was Claremorris native Patricia Carty, who was presented with €2,000 worth of Newbridge Silverware courtesy of sponsors Martin & Anne Murphy, Newsagent and Jeweler from Main Street in Ballinrobe.
The mother of three stood out from the crowd dressed in a cream Max Mara dress that she purchased in France along with a cream jacket from Penneys.
Patricia bought her headpiece from on-line clothes store ASOS and her shoes were from high street shoe chain Schuh. Patricia also scooped a specially commissioned headpiece from Jacob’s Creek created by milliner Ronnie Ryan.
Celebrity judge Daithí O’Se was on hand to select the Best Dressed Lady much to the delight of the racegoers. Ladies from all over the West of Ireland turned up in eye-catching outfits to wow the celebrity judge who had a hard decision to make. All 10 fashion finalists picked from the glamorous crowd by Daithí received goody bags which included a bottle of Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Rosé and a Newbridge Silverware Necklace.
Winner Patricia almost didn’t attend the races due to the morning’s poor weather but along with her sister-in-law Sinéad Purcell, who was also a finalist, already had their outfits planned so decided to go along.  Patricia was delighted with her win.
“I have never entered a Best Dressed competition in my life so couldn’t believe it when my name was called, I love going racing and I regularly attend the Galway Festival”.
John Flannelly, General Manager of Ballinrobe Racecourse, said “The day was a great success and the rain held off making for a great atmosphere.  The fashion was great on the day and Daithi Ó Se had a hard job as the judge of the competition this year. Ladies Day gets bigger and better every year so we are looking forward to another successful event next year.”
Daithí had just jetted back from Dubai where he had presented the Dubai Rose of Tralee competition.
“I expected the tempurature to drop a fair bit from Dubai to Ballinrobe but I have to say a lot of the Mayo lads were very much hot under the collar when they saw the fashion on view. I come to Ballinrobe as often as I can as the craic is always mighty.”
Among the impressive winners during the equine action on Sunday were Tarkari for Willie and Patrick Mullins, and Premier Victory who took the EBF Novice Hurdle in fine style for popular trainer Tom Hogan.