It was a sea of purple under clear blue skies at the Oak Park Races this year.
Despite unseasonably warm conditions, more than a thousand punters made the five-hour journey west of Townsville to enjoy a week of quality racing, social events and high fashion.
On Saturday attendees wore purple and there was fierce competition in the Fashions on the Field events, sponsored by local Cairns boutique FAmazing Beauty and Fashion.
On Friday, the ‘country casual’ dress code saw a blossoming of floral prints, while denim was a recurring theme among the winners for both men and women.
One of those lucky enough to nab a prize was long-time attendee Kath McDonald, runner-up in the ‘Most Elegant Lady’ category on Saturday, who wore gloves crocheted by her godmother in 1978 and her mother’s 70-year- old hat.
Milly Bakker-Meyers was another well-deserved winner, awarded ‘Belle of the Ball’ at the Westpac Agribusiness Ball on Thursday night and ‘Best Dressed Couple’ on Friday in outfits she had made from scratch by hand.
However, the competition off the track was more than matched by the one on it. Nearly all races were contested by a full field, and one race had to be split in two to accommodate acceptors.
All eyes were on the penultimate race on Saturday, when ‘Standford’ emerged with a thrilling victory to claim the coveted Lyndhurst Shield.
Established in 1904, the Shield is the Club’s premier event and is run over 1600m. This year, the six-year- old gelding trained by Trevor Rowe and ridden by Ngarie Nelson produced an historic win, being only the third winner ridden by a woman.
Roy Chillemi from Tolga won the Trainer of the Meeting with three winners and Stephen Wilson from Tolga won Jockey of the Meeting with four winners and one third. With eleven races over the two days, and over $140,000 in prizemoney on offer, Club President David Murphy said it was a testament to the club’s reputation and facilities that so many trainers and jockeys were willing to make the trip to attend Oak Park.