AFTER racing at Royal Ascot the party got started up in car park 2.

John Ferguson and team hosted a superb party with the very best of Veuve Clicquot champagne being served and plenty of praise all round to the outstanding claret that was on offer. Lots of familiar faces from the racing world rocked up and John and his son James were wonderful hosts.

Even those that didn’t get the call up were made to feel very welcome and were immediately indoctrinated as ‘full members” so they will be all set to come back next year.

Shairp eyes

Jo Shairp, from team Willie Mullins, was at her first Royal Ascot and is already feeling the call to return.

While enjoying one of the picnics, she spotted a big diamond stone lying in the grass. Thankfully, she was able to find its owner who was none other than Nicky Henderson’s wife, Sophie who had lost the middle diamond from her ring.

Gittins family go for it

The Gittins family know how to throw a party. Aisling and Mark put on a big spread and they kept the party going till after 11pm.

Ed Prosser and the Keeneland team went for a more sedate affair on the Wednesday morning before racing. This proved a huge success with roaming racegoers and set people up nicely for the day ahead.

Tamso’s tweets from the front

Thank you to Tamso Doyle, PR guru and one of the leading socialites in racing, who kept everyone at home up to date with the haute couture and fashion from Ascot. Tamso did a brilliant job on her social media feed and kept a lot of people happy who couldn’t attend the races or were waiting on their better halves to send back the style info.

Gypsy curse or blessing

Plenty of people took advantage of the sellers providing flowers for their lapel at the races but they did feel under pressure to take something from the ladies who were selling them. They didn’t have a set price but one thing is for sure you didn’t want any bad luck if you walked straight past!