Caulfield: Carnival Preview Day Wrap

On Saturday the Melbourne Racing held their Carnival Preview day at Caulfield. There was free entry and the sun was (mostly) shining so I headed off to the track for another day of fashion and racing. There were three heats for the Chadstone Fashion Stakes across three sections of the competition. There weren't major prizes up for grabs, but winners from the day have each won a coveted spot in the finals for their section. The host for the day was Melanie Vallejo from Winners and Losers on Channel 7 and judges for the day included Emily Power and Caulfield Style Ambassador Erika Heynatz,First up for the day was the Stylish Over 40s Ladies heat. There were a limited number of entrants, with only 10 women for this section. I speculate that more entrants are put off from coming and entering in the earlier heats because if you win a spot in the grand final you have to return in three weeks time in the exact same outfit. Numbers may have been down, but the quality of the entrants was good with a couple of women missing out that I thought had a very good chance of making the final.

By Angela Menz

Chadstone Fashion Stakes. Heat 1 Melbourne Racing Club

Today was the start of the Fashions on the Field silly season here in Melbourne with the first heats of the Chadstone Fashion stakes taking place at Chadstone shopping centre.There was a great stage set up and plenty of chairs for shoppers and support crew for the contestants to sit down and enjoy the show. It was held on the lower level of the centre just outside David Jones, so patrons could peer down over the railings to see what was going on too. Fashions on the Field competitions always feel strange to me when they are held away from the track but a good job was done in creating a nice atmosphere for the competition.I had pre-registered and was allocated a spot in heat two. The numbers for the event were quite low ( 15/16 contestants) , but the quality of the entrants was superb. Each heat saw three women selected to go into the final with the winner progressing to the grand final held on Caulfield Cup dayBecause I was up on stage and back stage for heat two I didn't get any stage snaps as my iphone was in my handbag, but I did get a pic of the other girls in my heat.The daily final was next, with the top 6 contestants lining up for another go at impressing the judges. I didn't make the cut for the final, so instead I ran around to the front and took some photos.And after short deliberation the winner was announced!

I'm looking forward to day two of the Chadstone Fashion Stakes held at Caulfield. Hope to see you there!By Angela Menz