Punters let their hair down for a day of racing at the Ipswich Cup – and there’ll be some sore heads tomorrow
Thousands of racing fans turned up in style for the annual Ipswich Cup – despite a fire threatening to disrupt the event the night before.
Firefighters were called to the Bundamba circuit, west of Brisbane, on Friday evening after a small electrical fire started in the old Ipswich Turf Club stand.
Fortunately, the fire did not cause any substantial damage and punters were able to arrive at the track as planned on Saturday for the big event on the Queensland racing calendar.
Racegoers flocked in their thousands to the Ipswich Cup, a key event on the Queensland racing calendar
Punters dressed to the nines for the Ipswich Cup on Saturday
Competitors of different ages turned out in style for the Ipswich Cup, west of Brisbane, on Saturday
Temperatures reached a high of 20C during the Ipswich racing event
A happy visitor takes a selfie as the event kicks off on Saturday
Three friends are seen heading to the Ipswich Turf Club for the racing event on Saturday
Two friends are seen spending some time on the grass during the horse racing
The sun shone for the punters who flocked to the circuit for the Ipswich Cup
The Ipswich Cup is a major event on the Queensland racing calendar
Two women are seen getting into the racing spirit at the Ipswich Turf Club
A young man looked excited for his day out at the races this weekend
Many attendees donned their best attire for the racing event
A large crowd of racegoers flocked to the venue, dressed to the nines, and enjoyed a day of clear skies and sunshine
One racegoer is seen joining thousands of punters at the track on Saturday
Crowds of racegoers flocked to the venue dressed to the nines and enjoyed a day of clear skies and sunshine, with temperatures reaching a maximum of 20 degrees Celsius.
Even the attending police officers could be seen joining in on the fun as they posed for cheerful snaps with cheering racegoers.
The day wasn’t all smiles though, with one guest seen being led away by officers.
For those actually paying attention to what was happening on the track, the feature race – the $250,000 2150m Ipswich Cup – was taken out by Queensland horse Red Wave, ridden by jockey Angela Jones.
The five-year-old offspring of Red Dazzler ran a near-perfect race, sitting just behind the leaders for most of the event.
The context for best dressed was also very hotly contested by fashion-conscious racegoers
Even police officers got into the festive spirit by posing with the colorfully dressed racegoers
However, there was at least one incident where officers led one of the racegoers away
Many refreshments were consumed by the cheerful crowd on the big day
Those present let their hearts loose for a day full of racing and fun
Sausage sizzle was popular with racegoers at the Ipswich Cup
Winning trainer Tony Sears said the victory was one for his daughter and training partner Maddysen, who he said deserved all the plaudits.
“Maddysen does all the work with this horse, all the credit goes to her,” Sears said.
‘We thought about it a while ago. He recently had a really bad run in Brisbane on a wet track, which he doesn’t really like.
“(But) we were quite confident without saying too much because he had no weight on a dry track.”
At the end of the day it became clear that the festivities were taking their toll on some attendees
A woman is seen being helped out of the race venue by her friends