Elegance personified

Dressed in their Sunday best, nearly 40,000 spectators flocked to the most famous course in France’s Oise Valley last weekend.

And while some of them may have fallen a little short of the dress code expected at Prix de Diane-Longines, there were many outfits that scored points for both originality and elegance.

Elegance – that’s the watchword of the celebrated timepiece-makers, partners and faithful timekeeper of the event, who chose this the 163rd running of the race to present their new global ambassador, Simon Baker.

Famous for his role in The Mentalist, the actor was making his first visit to Chantilly, having attended a few races in his native Australia, home also to wonder horse Black Caviar.

More than happy to chat to his fans, Baker also presented the Prix de l'Élégance Mademoiselle Diane to Charlene Pestana. Dressed in green from head to toe, Charlene had been selected by a panel of experts as the day’s best dressed race-goer.

Long before the presentations and award ceremonies, the day had begun with Ayo delighting the fans with a musical set that reflected the mood of this very special Sunday: festive, warm, friendly, but never anything less than stylish.

Stylish – a keyword that encapsulates to perfection the young, Nigerian-born singer, whose multi-patterned long white dress made a lasting impression on the likes of TV personalities Nelson Montfort and Benjamin Castaldi, just two of the celebrities to venture into the kingdom of effortless style yesterday.

Speaking to French TV channel Equidialive last week, jockey Stephane Pasquier said he would like to see more sponsors get involved in racing.

The winner of two races at one of the season’s most prestigious meetings at Chantilly last Sunday, Pasquier also said he was happy with the number of meetings and races (“five to eight a day”) on the schedule.