Christy Poulsen takes home Fashions on the Field win while Geraldton Turf Club enjoys successful Gold Cup day

After a long season, Sunday’s Gold Cup marked the final calendar meeting and the culmination of Geraldton Turf Club’s successful year. With all the excitement of the main race and What A Prince taking the win by a nose, there was also plenty of excitement off the track. The annual fashions on the field event drew a crowd with 11 women showing off their hard work that went into their outfits for the day. After a long deliberation from the judges, it was Christy Poulsen who won fashions on the field. “Really happy, it was a really tough competition, everyone looked fabulous, I don’t envy being a judge at all,” she said. Thrilled about taking home the victory, Ms Poulsen was happy for her hard work to have paid off. “I’ve had the dress for six months, I started the millinery three months ago, and my shoes and bag last night,” she said. “Lot of hard work and a lot of time researching goes into bits and pieces.” There was a big turnout for the day with meeting attendance in the 2000 range. Geraldton Turf Club chairman Brian O’Dwyer said he was pleased with the numbers for the marquee day. “It’s quite a spectacular day, very pleased with the attendance, the racing has been excellent, nine races very hotly contested, good fields, it’s been an amazing day,” he said. With the final calendar event in the books, the club said the season had been successful despite lacking midweek turnout. “I think it’s been very good, the attendance midweek has been disappointing but it’s disappointing all over Australia, unless you live in Sydney or Melbourne,” Mr O’Dwyer said. “Today is one of our biggest days, it generally is our biggest day and it hasn’t let us down . . . it’s the pinnacle of our racing season.” The Sunday meeting didn’t see a single stable or jockey dominate which allowed for better competition. “Everybody’s had a bite of the cherry . . . the winner, the cup horse was a win for the ages, it really was a tremendous performance,” Mr O’Dwyer said.