2011 Gallery & Features: Saturday 3rd September: Ladies Day

Ladies Day: Saturday 3rd September

Please note: more pictures will be available at the weekend.

Once again Ladies Day has provided a fitting climax to the season. There was a large attendance in the Club Enclosure, as well as 400 more in the Ladies Day Marquee inside the course. Perhaps there were more ladies in the crowd than usual and very many had gone to great lengths to dress up for the occasion. It all helped to build a super atmosphere around the grounds and on the track itself the totePool Hambleton Handicap produced a thrilling finish that nearly raised the roof off the stand.  The winner of the day’s feature race, the £20,000 ‘Dressed of Harrogate’ Handicap Stakes, was the rather appropriately named filly Belle Royale!

The Ladies Day Marquee

This year we doubled both the size of the marquee and its capacity - to 400, and the package was still a sell-out. The event is becoming a regular booking for some groups and the new location with seats next to the finishing post is very popular. Groups had a reserved table for the day, drink and canapés on arrival, lunch and afternoon tea, with our caterers CGC Events running a very efficient service. Exclusive bar and Tote facilities were available in the marquee.

After lunch, there was a 40 minute display by 11 members of the Morton Gledhill Fashion Team, split into several sections according to clothing styles. The changeovers ran without a hitch and the whole show was wonderfully choreographed to varied musical tempos. Compere for the day was Carl Wilde, the celebrity florist, with a little help with technical aspects from Bernadette Gledhill. A fabulous raffle in aid of the mental health charity Mind raised some £2000.

Fashion items for ladies were provided by Dressed of Harrogate and included:

• The new stretch collection in cocktail wear.

• Evening dresses by Luisa Spagnoli (supplier to the NEW Duchess of Cambridge!).

• Co-ordinates, jackets and knitwear.

• New season glamour from ‘Ispirato’.

• Joseph Ribkoff collection •

• A glorious finale from Alberto Mackali, Anoushka G, La Femme and Irrisistible.

Humphrey and Tilly of Thirsk again supplied a full range of traditional menswear (and they do sell ladies wear too!):

•  Morning dress to buy or hire and smart suits. • Suits, jackets and jeans in tweed, • Classic dinner suits • A full range of accessories.

Adorn Hats

• This season’s Adorn Millinery by Jennifer Roberts.

• Hire service available.

The ‘Best Dressed’ and ‘Best Hat’ Competitions

Following the totePool Hambleton Handicap, the competitions for ‘Best Hat’ and ‘Best Dressed Lady’ were held. Clerk of the Course declared that the Going in the Winner’s Enclosure was TOO SOFT (for stiletto heels!) so the venue was switched to the Parade Ring. About 30 ladies of various ages were brave enough to take part, but there were many dozens more in the audience who were dressed fit to make worthy competitors. The judges were:

• Carl Wilde and Bernadette Gledhill (as above)

• Carole Hilton (Dressed of Harrogate, who kindly donated a custom outfit for the winner).

• Jennifer Roberts (Adorn Hats, who generously gave a bespoke hat to the winner of the ‘Best Hat’ competition.

• Stephen Ranaghan of Humphrey and Tilly.

The Winners were:

• Best Dressed: Julie Moore from Redcar

• Runner-up: Alexis Forthrop

• Best Hat: Karen Bromilow from Doncaster

• Runner-up: Sheila Patch

Julie Moore represented Thirsk in the All Yorkshire ‘Best Dressed Lady’ Final at Doncaster on Thursday 8th September – and she was the winner there too! Congratulations and well done!

This is my final report/feature/blog of the season. It is the longest by far, because so much happened on the day – and that’s apart from yet another bumper program of 8 races. I’ve learned a lot about Thirsk Racecourse over the last 5 months, as I’ve delved into various aspects of raceday. The whole operation is complicated and is tied to a very strict time scale (controlled nationally). This applies not only to those supervising the racing itself, but also to the catering staff of CGC Events, and to the ancillary staff who magically appear for each fixture to perform crucial tasks. It runs so smoothly that many clients are hardly aware of what is going on behind the scenes.

My thanks go to all the staff who have co-operated in providing information – even when they were busy – and to the many dozens of customers who were overwhelmingly constructive in their comments. Although this may be the last ‘blog’ for a while, please keep looking at the website. Information about fixtures, prices etc. for 2012 will be made available as soon as possible, and on–line booking will resume when fixture dates for 2012 become finalised.

I’ll finish with one good tip for 2012. If you are going to attend more than half of the fixtures at Thirsk, it is very much in your interest, both for enjoyment and financially, to become an Annual Member of Thirsk Race Club.

Contact Details

Morton Gledhill - The Fashion Team: PO Box 1283, Huddersfield HD1 9ZY
tel: 01845 543669 m: 07885 648993
email: b@mortongledhill.com  web: www.mortongledhill.com

Dressed of Harrogate - 'Every day is a day to dress up'
1 Westminster Arcade, 32 Parliament Street, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 2RN
tel: 01423 567099 web: www.dressedofharrogate.co.uk

Adorn - Hats to Inspire
Pointers End, Rudding Dower, Rudding Lane, Harrogate, HG3 1LL
tel: 01423 816511 email: jennifer@adornhats.co.uk web: www.adornhats.co.uk

Humphrey & Tilly - Yorkshire Tailors of Town & Country Clothing
The Old Bank Chambers, 37 Market Place, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 1HA
tel: 01845 527120 email: info@humphreyandtilly.co.uk web: www.humphreyandtilly.co.uk