2019 Stella Artois Caulfield Cup
This year the Melbourne Racing Club introduced a New York theme to the Caulfield Cup Carnival. Facing increased competition to its flagship raceday from across the border with the Australian Turf Club holding ‘The Everest’ on the same day there was a need for the MRC to lift their game this year. They rose to the challenge with a well thought out theme that filtered throughout the day, with their New York theme making its mark from the moment you lined up to enter the track. Patrons were greeted with a NYC cab and free hot bagels handed out to set the tone.
On the front lawn David Jones once again presented its Fashion Stable, with an expanded experience open to all race goers (general admin) encompassing a bar, food options, seating, free fashion illustrations, a Beauty Bar partnered with Sephora, Joey Scandizzo Salon for hair touch ups and a photo area with professional photographers where you could choose to enter the the Dyson Style Stakes competition.
The photo studio setup looked impressive and clearly had a lot of energy spent on it, but once again it had a couple of misfires… you had the opportunity to select a NYC backdrop for a photo, but when I made my pick I was asked to squat down a little as they couldn’t fit both my hat and my shoes in the frame. When I got my final photo both my hat and shoes were chopped off with an end result that didn’t make the cut to post on Instagram. (slide through below to see the three professional photos) You could choose to enter your photo into the Style Stakes competition, or simply have your photo emailed to you as a souvenir of the day. The photographers were doing their best and encouraged everyone to pose and capture their best angles, it was just unfortunate the set up limited what they could do. There was one larger backdrop which I tried out with my husband and got a much better photo.
The special guests and ambassadors for David Jones that in previous years have been hidden away in VIP marquees were out in force in the fashion stable where the general public had the chance to see what they were wearing and be able to interact with them. It was a first for David Jones to try this approach and I hope they continue with it in the future. One of the big draw cards of the David Jones Fashion Stable was the fashion parades that were held twice during the afternoon. They were well thought out and being held early in the Victorian spring racing carnival had a lot of fashion inspo if you weren’t already organised with your raceday outfits. It was also great to see the fashion parade featured models with different ethnicities and ages. (click on the thumbnails below)
After the last parade of the day it was time to announce the winners of the Dyson Style Stakes featuring Joey Scandizzo Salon competition. Prior to the announcement, finalists were contacted via a phone call to gather in the David Jones Fashion Stable. There were various categories held (Lads, Ladies, Over 35, Millinery and Squad) with two/ three finalists for each category presented on the catwalk before the winners was announced in front of the crowd.
Click on the thumbnails below to see the lucky winners!
I did spend time during the day in the members area, and wandered through The Heath where the marquees, including The Caulfield Lounge, presented by Alfa Romeo are located. The members provided a welcome respite from the cold and rain as (again!) the Caulfield Cup was pretty miserable weather wise. However, most punters seemed eager to get on with the fun of the day and throw themselves into a great day of racing and socialising. The New York theme was apparent everywhere you looked with a ‘block party’ happening during the day with music pumping and food trucks featuring on theme cuisine. The only part of the theme that had me miffed was the drool worthy displays of american snacks that were unfortunately not available to purchase. Of course lets not forget too the whole point of the day though! The main race: The Caulfield Cup. This year it was won by Japanese stayer, Me de Glace. Jockey Damien Lane rode the horse to victory, finishing a length ahead of second place Vow and Declare. (click on the thumbnails below)
