The real competition isn't on the track - it's in the tent among the best-dressed ladies, writes Frank McNallyat the Galway Race Festival, Ballybrit.
IN A departure from tradition, the winners of the best-dressed ladies competition were not presented in the parade ring this year.
Apparently, on previous occasions, they had frightened the horses. So instead the climax of the competition took place in one of Ballybrit's smaller marquees: where, with no horses present, it was only the male journalists who were scared.
The risk involved in having so many pointy hats and parasols - not to mention stilettos - in a confined space was bad enough. But the colours alone could have blinded you. They were of a range and intensity that, to be seen in one place, would normally require the use of psychedelic drugs.
Yellow, amber, tangerine, burnt orange - those were just the fake tans.
The clothes were even more vibrant. Searches for this season's new black, or for any predominant theme, were useless. It was like an explosion in a paint factory. The male reporter's stock of colour adjectives - never up to describing Festival Thursday in Ballybrit, even in subdued years - was quickly exhausted.
The sheer extent of participation in Ladies Day at Galway is unmatched anywhere else. Other such events pale alongside it - literally and metaphorically - as almost every woman who goes to the races makes a conspicuous effort to dress up. By comparison, the Irish male looks even more dressed down than usual.
Not even another rain-soaked day could diminish the frock-wearers' enthusiasm. For most of the afternoon, you had to admire the foresight of the many who had bought their outfits in a chain-store called Monsoon (even if none of them looked particularly waterproof).
The sky's colour range - light grey to charcoal - was in stark contrast with most of the outfits on the ground. But although the constant drizzle turned heavy enough at one point for the parasols to be replaced by umbrellas, the real deluge at least waited for the end of the competition.
Of the many thousands of women who sported finery, only 40 were chosen for the shortlist.
Each of these was awarded a special yellow arm-band, like an exotic bird being ringed (and feathers do tend to be a big part of the outfits). Then, after closer examination, 37 were released back into the wild.
It can be a mixed blessing to be one of the three formally recognised as Best Dressed Ladies at Galway. One the plus side, you win prizes and temporary fame. On the minus, you are presented on a platform for the public viewing of several thousand also-rans, who study the chosen few with the hard eyes of horse dealers in a sales yard.
To judge from the expressions of those watching, the winning outfits evoke a whole gamut of emotions: from admiration to physical pain. Comments in the crowd also range from the generous ("Isn't she lovely?") to the critical ("I wouldn't have picked that"), to the truly damning ("It's certainly different.") But the judges somehow arrived at a consensus again this year. And although there had been no agreement in the day's colour schemes, the selections did have one interesting theme. The winner of the best-dressed prize, Carol Kennelly from Killarney (via Tralee), was four months pregnant. The runner-up, Cathy Casey from Limerick, was an obstetrician/gynaecologist.
This might have been a fortunate coincidence had the excitement of the occasion taken too much of a toll. But in the event, it was only Carol's four-year-old daughter, Rosie (also dressed in her Sunday best) who was overwhelmed by the emotions of the event, as her mother was swept away for a series of media interviews, each of which involved explaining that her giant floral headpiece was a "gold hibiscus" and, yes, she had made it herself.
To no one's surprise, the judges admitted that Carol had been in the running for the Best Hat award, before her general sense of style persuaded them to give her the overall prize: a €6,000 diamond necklace, €4,000 cash, and a €2,000 shopping spree in Anthony Ryan's. The hat title went instead to Lisa Kennedy from St Margarets, Co Dublin.
There was racing too at Galway yesterday. Jockey Paul Townend, wearing a pink silk ensemble with brown stars and a matching cap, won the big race on board the John Kiely-trained Indian Pace. Nobody in or around the fashion tent passed much notice.
Thursday is traditionally the festival's biggest day and, recession or no recession, this year's instalment didn't disappoint the organisers. More than 46,000 people attended, only a few hundred down on last year.
"A wonderful result, considering the state of the economy," declared racecourse manager John Moloney.
The festival continues today, when it reverts temporarily to an evening event.