Ladies don their hats for NSPCC Race Day

Reporter: Jan Harwood
Date online: 21 June 2007

The Rochdale branch of the NSPCC has held its third annual Royal Ascot Ladies' Day at Nutter's Restaurant and in keeping with the previous two events, it was a roaring success. The ladies of Rochdale were out in force with their posh frocks and fancy hats and they hoped to better last year's total raised for the children's charity of over pound;4000.

The Chairman of the Rochdale branch of the NSPCC, Lis Kay, hoped to reach the pound;5000 target, and reports came in last night that the net profit raised was pound;5014.44. This came thanks to the efforts of Andrew Nutter and his team of chefs and staff and the quick-spending punters, with 170 of them, 26 more than were at the event last year, packing into the restaurant, betting on the races, buying raffle tickets and enjoying a glass or four of wine!

Before getting down to the excitement of the day's racing from Ascot, watched on a big-screen provided by Rochdale Online, guests sat down to a three-course meal specially created by Andrew Nutter and his team. The top chef spoke about the special effort that went into the lunch. He said: quot;The event has been superb as usual. This year we tried to create a fashion orientated meal so we used a lot of quirky ingredients. The starter was served with Goji beans; they went down well with the ladies because they reduce wrinkles! Last week Michael Winner said that our Smoked Haddock with Blacksticks Fondue was the best he'd ever eaten, so we served that again today and the mint used in the 'Strawberries amp; Cream' was hand picked from my garden. It's been absolutely fabulous and the meal went down really well."

Having been well fed, the punters were well set for the afternoon's racing. They enjoyed four races, culminating in the Britannia Stakes at 4.20. As in previous years, the guests placed their bets and gained points based on where their horse finished in the race, with ten points gained for choosing a winner. The ladies gathered around the big screen to watch the action unfold and there were cheers of joy and groans of disappointment after each race had finished.

The event came to a close with an 18 prize raffle draw, as well as a one-off raffle to win a free meal at Nutter's restaurant, and the announcement of the race winners. There was also the presentation to the winner of the much coveted lsquo;most exotic hat’ competition, which was this year won by Claire Hoyle.

Debbie Hardwick from the north-west NSPCC commented on another superb occasion. She said: quot;The local NSPCC is extremely grateful to the Rochdale branch for putting on a fantastic Ascot Ladies' Day Lunch.

"It is only with dedicated volunteers like these that the NSPCC can go on helping so many local children and families affected by abuse and neglect."

Master of Ceremonies John Kay echoed Ms Hardwick's sentiments. He said: quot;We've had an excellent third year of the event. It's been a sell-out and we hope to raise more for the NSPCC than we did last year. The meal was up to the usual excellent standard. I didn't win on any of the races, but the NSPCC is going to be the big winner today and that is what is important."

Lis Kay thanked everyone for another splendid afternoon, paid special thanks to Nutter's for being wonderful hosts and then told everyone that she would see them on Thursday June 19 2008 for another special Rochdale Royal Ascot Ladies' Day.

To find out more about the NSPCC or to get involved in their charity work, contact:

• Deborah Hardwick - 0161 338 7158