As the name may suggest – we are big London fans! But given the opportunity, we love to occasionally take a break from the big city and travel further afield to explore and experience other parts of our beautiful country. And 2021 is certainly the year of the staycation!
Last weekend, one of our contributing editors attended the Ladies Day at the Cazoo St Ledger festival in Doncaster and enjoyed the last of the great British weather in style. With over 400 years of history, the Cazoo St Leger Festival is the world’s oldest classic. The races were founded in 1776 by Colonel Anthony St. Leger and the Cazoo St Leger Festival remains a premier sporting occasion for Doncaster and the UK.
Sure there is a lot of sporting talent there but Ladies Day brings the ultimate in glitz and glamour to Yorkshire’s biggest social occasion. This year it felt a bit more special as mums, grandmothers, aunties and their friends got to wear all the colours of the rainbow in their finest attire and glamorous hats as a special thanks to the local NHS teams who have worked so hard to help fans return to large scale events.
The whole day felt very special indeed. There was a festive feeling in the air as friends, families and best of the best in the racing industry delighted in returning to the race course. It felt like a much needed escape with glorious weather, al fresco dining (and drinking) options and plenty of live music to entertain us whilst we watched people (and their outfits). It almost felt like a fashion parade as ladies meandered down the racing catwalk.
Then to the races, on Ladies Day we had the privilege to cheer over seven races with two of them for fillies and mares running over a mile in the May Hill Stakes and over Doncaster’s straight mile in the Park Hill, often referred to as the Fillies St Ledger, over the St Ledger distance of 1m 6f.
We took our time to meet the race horses, learn about them, as each race horse has a well documented history, and swap stories with other racegoers. We even had a flutter on our favourites ‘Call Me Ginger’, who won and ‘Ninky Nonk’ who didn’t. The day went fast as we had so much fun cheering the races, photographing the horses, discussing the favourite fashion outfit, or enjoying our drinks and conversations with fellow racegoers!
For sheer spectacle, atmosphere and excitement, a day at Doncaster Racecourse is a tradition that is hard to beat. For more upcoming events at Doncaster Racecourse (including a Toy Collectors Fair in October) check out their website here.