November 4, 2020

BY CHRISTINE LACY AND MELISSA YEO – THE AUSTRALIAN

Sydneysiders may have no public holiday or namesake golden cup, but with Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s eased COVID-19 restrictions, Royal Randwick had the upper hand on Tuesday when it came to hosting revellers trackside, even if the Premier herself preferred to stay away.

But try as they might, Sydney just does racing a little differently, be it the shorter hemlines and flashes of skin or the sausage rolls dolled out on paper plates for punters on the grass.

With masked COVID-19 marshalls aplenty and staff on hand to offer sanitiser to each and every guest at the gate, there were some notable modifications to the day, and others that played very nicely into the hands of the city’s suddenly very private top ranks.

Under the guise of social distancing, ministers including the likes of NSW opposition leader Michael Daley, Transport Minister Andrew Constance and Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres were able to let their hair down behind closed doors.

Front and centre though was Bentley, whose four cars at the stands turned more heads than any rich-lister might, as represented by kilt-sporting country manager David Simpson, all part of the northern racing club’s premium push driven by Commercial Executive General manager Corina Black.