THE Ebor first day crowd went stratospheric with the biggest cheer of the day as Ryedale favourite Space Shuttle sneaked through to take the honours in the penultimate race in a photo finish.

The horse, ridden by Kieran Fallon and trained by Tim Easterby in Malton, gained in the dying yards to snatch the race to cheers from the partisan crowd.

It was the perfect end to the day for punters who had backed the local favourite.

"I had a tenner on him to back the local boy, and it came through. Easterby is a great trainer, and I'll be backing him again," said Michael Raines, of Huntington.

But it was not just the tight finish and the top-class racing that had the pulses racing as the crowds basked in one of the best days of the summer so far.

The blazer-toting inhabitants of the County Stand looked somewhat hot under the collar as they stood in the sun, no doubt helped by some of the spectacular outfits on show.

For although it was two days before Ladies Day, the fashion stakes were almost as high as those out on the track.

Ebor Festival and Royal Ascot regular Rebecca Shaw, of Scarborough, stood out from the crowd with her purple feathered hat, an original hand-made for her.

An Ebor regular warming up for next year's Ascot extravaganza was trying on a new outfit.

Marilyn Kerr, of Thorpe Willoughby, said: "We would love to be in the Royal Enclosure for Ascot, so have got to have the outfits to match.

One of the belles of the ball was local girl Rose Trevor, aged four, attending her second meeting this year with mum Jayne.

Dressed in pink from top to toe, complete with rose-tinted sunglasses to match her name, she was enjoying the day.

"We are enjoying soaking up everything York has to offer. Rose is having a lovely time, and loving getting dressed up - I think she's a proper race-goer," said Jayne.

James Brennan, of York Racecourse, said nearly 20,000 punters flocked to Knavesmire yesterday.

That figure was down on the same day last year, but he said it was still impressive given the recent stormy weather that would have deterred many picnicking punters.

He said: "Given the week that York and North Yorkshire has had, it is a huge achievement.

"It is a shade down on last year, but that was a record-breaking season in the middle of a dry spell."

Updated: 14:33 Wednesday, August 18, 2004