Punters make merry as Shocking wins

MARION VAN DIJK/Nelson Mail

RACING FLAIR: Shushila Takau, above, models a Natasha Gan-designed garment during the Jays Summer Fashion Show at the Melbourne Cup event at The Honest Lawyer.

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Nelsonians wore their glad rags and extravagant hats at The Honest Lawyer yesterday to have a flutter and enjoy the fashion of the Melbourne Cup.

About 150 people attended a function at the bar and restaurant in Monaco to support the Summit Rescue Helicopter.

Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter Trust marketing and communications manager Paula Muddle said the day started at 4pm with some canapes and early drinks.

"It was a great opportunity to finish work early, dust off your hat, get dressed up and have a bit of a bet," Ms Muddle said.

One person who was glad he had yesterday off work was The Honest Lawyer head chef Daniel Brook, who picked the winner Shocking, collecting $130.

Mr Brook said he had seen the horse on television winning the previous Saturday and thought he might make a good run for it. "But I knew nobody else would probably pick it so it turned out to be a pretty good evening."

A fashion parade was held by Jays on Bridge, which Ms Muddle said was very well received. There were also prizes for best-dressed man and woman.

The climax of the festivities was an apple drop from the helicopter. People were invited to place bets on their apple landing on a bull's-eye that had been set out in the Monaco mudflats.

"But there might have been some miscommunication because a couple of people thought you had to go out into the mud and get the apples."

Ms Muddle won a magnum of champagne for arriving with the most creative hat but said she thought a woman who got particularly dirty retrieving her apple deserved it more.

Ms Muddle said the event raised about $2000 for the Summit Rescue Helicopter.

In a display of recession-defying optimism, Kiwis bet $7.91 million on the Melbourne Cup, the third highest amount on record. TAB racing manager Michael Dore said one of the luckiest bets placed in New Zealand was by a punter who walked away with $24,000, after putting $2000 on Shocking.