It was ‘meant to be’ after a last-minute race ticket and dress purchase led a race-goer to scoop first place in the Ladies’ Day Style Awards. Penelope Banton, who is from Mansfield but now lives in Manchester, looked perfect in purple at the Advertiser Ladies’ Day at Southwell Racecourse on Sunday — and the Style Awards judges thought so too. The thrilling competition puts attendees head to head in a battle of looks, narrowing a field of thousands of glamorous race-goers to just five finalists and one winner, who takes home a £500 cash prize.
Between 11am, when gates open, and 2.50pm, those in their finest frocks or sublime suits are invited to pose at the Style Awards flower wall by the parade ring to be entered into the competition. In the midst of the afternoon’s racing action the highly-anticipated final takes place in the winners enclosure.
The podium was decided by Advertiser editor Sharon Hodkin, who said: “It’s so difficult, I always say this is the worst part of the day — everyone just looks so amazing. “It’s so difficult to pick just one winner.” Penelope was named as the champion for her elegant purple look — bought from Southwell’s The Dress Room just the day before.
She said: “I’m very shocked, I drove to see my mum in Farnsfield on Friday and she was going to the races, so I said I wanted to go too. “We scrambled to get a ticket, and then on Saturday we went into Southwell for tea and stumbled across The Dress Room, where I found the most beautiful dress I’d ever seen. “It all just seemed meant to be, I feel very fortunate and very lucky to have been able to get very last minute tickets.
” It was also Penelope’s first ever visit to the races, despite having always wanted to go. “What an inauguration,” she added. As well as the £500 — which she plans to use some of to treat her mum to dinner as a thanks for buying the winning dress — Penelope was presented with a hat made by last year’s winner Lucy Davies, of Southwell, who is a milliner and also owns The Dress Room, flowers, a bottle of fizz, and tickets and a table for two for the Seasons restaurant for Winter Ladies’ Day.
Lucy said: “The racecourse approached me to do a collaboration after I won last year, as I am also a milliner based in Southwell so it is supporting a local business. “It was very nice for them to ask me to create a hat for the winner, and it’s nice that it’s all local.” In second place was Kinga Butler, of Mansfield, in a floral yellow tailored suit, with green accessories.
She said: “It’s been a bit of a shock even though I’ve been trying for the last three years.” The yellow was “completely out of her comfort zone” and there was a rather moving story behind the choice, as Kinga explained she normally wears black or occasionally a splash of pink. Just three weeks ago she had lost her mum, who loved yellow flowers, and so when she spotted the suit while on the hunt for an outfit she knew it was the one.
In third place was Emma, of Bedford, who had come to the races as part of her son’s 21st birthday celebrations. In a sleek black dress, bought from an independent boutique in Italy some years ago and matching black and white accessories, she took the final prize. Emma said: “It was really lovely to be picked, a nice surprise.
“Not in my wildest dreams did I think I would be third.” Both Emma and Kinga received a bottle of fizz, flowers, and Winter Ladies’ Day tickets..
