Evening Press Women's Editor Maxine Gordon picks the winners in the Ladies Day fashion stakes at Royal Ascot at York.

I'M not a betting woman, but I could not resist a flutter on Fashionable in the 3.05 at Royal Ascot yesterday.

After all, it was Ladies Day, when the fillies off the course are studied just as much as those in the starting stalls.

And there was much riding on this third day of the historic meeting at York - namely could northern women outperform their southern counterparts in the Ladies Day style stakes?

Having been to Royal Ascot in Berkshire last year, my verdict was that the northern meeting was less flamboyant and eccentric, but more flighty and fashionable.

Bright colours were the order of the day, with turquoise, lime green, brilliant orange, red and even purple brightening up the grey, overcast sky.

Clothes were less structured and formal, with plenty of cocktail dresses and pashmina shawls in evidence.

Hats came in all shapes and sizes, many adorned with long ostrich feathers coloured to match outfits.

York milliner Alison Fisher, wearing cream and red, was impressed with the show.

She said: "There are some lovely hats. I think people have tried very hard."

That verdict was matched by TV pundit Suzi Perry, looking radiant in cream and coral, who said: "It's a great occasion for the ladies of the north to rise to, and I think they are doing very well."

Look North's Christa Ackroyd wore a winning combination of black and cerise pink, and was proud to reveal her outfit was bought in Yorkshire, saying: "My dress is from Rag Doll at Pudsey and my hat from the milliner's Missy at Horsforth."

Eccentric racing broadcaster John McCririck said Yorkshire lasses were more than a nose in front of their southern rivals.

"I'm married to a Yorkshire lass and my goodness, do they love to flaunt it. They are also more interested in the horses," he said.

BBC racing presenter Clare Balding wore an oatmeal-coloured sinamay hat made by Wetherby milliner Woody Whittick.

Clare said she thought Royal Ascot at York was a real success. "I think it's just brilliant - and once the weather warms up it will be even better."

Also wearing a hat by Woody Whittick was Jane Spink of Knaresborough. In red felt with black ostrich feathers, it came with a matching corsage. She said: "It's all great fun and good to see so many people dressed up."

Penny Wilshire, who runs the boutique Pennita in Helmsley, embraced a fairy tale-theme for her all-purple look. The corseted dress was teamed with a bolero jacket and large hat.

Her accessories were in silver, including a pair of see-through shoes which she plans to wear at her wedding in September. "I'm wearing them in," she said. "They are going to be my 'something old'."

And her verdict on Ladies Day fashions at York? "I think the south is a little bit more conservative. Us northerners are a little bit more floaty and flirty."

As for my horse Fashionable - it came last. Fortunately, the ladies at Royal Ascot at York were much better placed.

Updated: 10:49 Friday, June 17, 2005