A crowd of 61,355 has witnessed Flemington trainers Matthew Ellerton and Simon Zahra win the $1 million Group 1 Kennedy Oaks, with their filly Aristia clinching the feature race.  Coming off victory in Saturday’s Group 2 Mumm Wakeful Stakes, she was guided home by jockey Damian Lane, while Tim Clark was second on Greysful Glamour for Mark Newnham, and Michelle Payne took third aboard Miner’s Miss for her father, trainer Paddy Payne.

Victoria Racing Club (VRC) Chief Executive Officer Neil Wilson said it was wonderful to see the training partnership of Ellerton Zahra secure the win at their home track.  “Congratulations to Matthew and Simon and to the large group of Aristia’s connections. We are delighted so many of them were at Flemington to experience the joy of winning a feature race during the Melbourne Cup Carnival. It was fantastic to see tens of thousands of racegoers enjoying Kennedy Oaks Day, with Flemington in full bloom and featuring a quality card of racing,” Mr Wilson said.

The undercard saw Vinicuna ridden by Wayne Lordan secure the Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate for the training team of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, while jockey Tim Clark rode the Matt Laurie-trained Bleu Roche to victory in the Group 3 World Horse Racing Red Roses Stakes, and 23-year-old Cranbourne trainer Alexander Rae took out the inaugural Melbourne Cup Carnival Country Final with Cochada ridden Craig Williams.

Top jockey Damien Oliver secured his 71^st career win of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, with victory aboard Vow and Declare for trainer Danny O’Brien in the TCL TV Stakes, to draw level with Roy Higgins and one win behind record holder Bobby Lewis.

The Myer Fashions on the Field Women’s Racewear competition culminated with Queensland winner Carle Rutledge reigning supreme, taking out the National Final. A plum Roksanda dress, yellow MNG shoes, self-made millinery, Mimco jewellery and a handbag from Bag Queen scored Carle the major prize, which included a brand new Lexus UX. Victorian winner Kelli Odell was runner up. Rebecca Share won the prestigious invitation-only Millinery Award with a red sculptural headpiece.

The Melbourne Cup Carnival’s fashion and entertainment destination, The Park, saw ARIA Award winner Amy Shark hit the stage, as well Furnace and the Fundamentals and Thandi Phoenix.

To coincide with ‘Ladies’ Day’, Racing Victoria (RV) commended women who have achieved sporting greatness at a special Celebrating Women in Sport event. The annual event, which was created to inspire women to follow their dreams and succeed in sport, profiled female changemakers in racing and other sports including AFLW, Commonwealth Games, Winter Olympics, basketball and athletics.  Hosted by Giaan Rooney, Commonwealth Games swimming gold medallist and popular media personality, the event included a number of inspiring female athletes and administrators from a range of sporting codes, including Criquette Head, the first female trainer to win G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Europe’s most prestigious race; Michelle Payne, the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup; and Amanda Elliott, the first female chairman of the VRC.

The exclusive Birdcage was host to an array of celebrities including supermodel Megan Gale and racing royalty Kate Waterhouse at Lexus, Australian model Elyse Taylor at Mumm, model Montana Cox at Kennedy, and Chris Judd and Tom Hawkins at Tabcorp.

It was a busy day for the Kennedys – James and his wife Jaimee Belle – as the Oaks carries the company’s name, and many guests enjoyed the hospitality of the marquee. Montana Cox was their special guest and was beautifully dressed in a Zimmermann outfit. A special presentation was made by racecaller Bryan Martin to famous Olympian Andrew Hoy.

Elyse Taylor was the guest at G.H.Mumm and thankfully, when cracking open the large Mumm champagne bottle, didn’t fall for the same misfortune that resulted in Nathalie Kelley’s mishap on Cup Day.

Lexus was a very relaxed atmosphere with Megan Gale and Kate Waterhouse again showcasing the car manufacturer’s design pavilion and Neil Perry providing the sumptuous food.  Guests included Ricky & Rihanna Ponting, Dom Bagnato, Brooke Hogan, Josh Gibson and Tegan Martin. Pace Penthouse was a lively affair with models showcasing the marquee and other guests included Stephen Bucknall (FRM Model Management), Ralph Carr and Jessie Murphy.

Bumble was bubbling with its predominantly female guest list, and even organised a panel discussion of various social and fashion identities that was hosted by magazine editor Jackie Frank. And it was quite a vibrant affair in 1 Oliver Street where Cameron Daddo and wife Alison were the special guests.

Photos are courtesy of Matt Deller.