Melbourne Cup celebration to remember

It was winning posts all the way for Karen Shilling at the Cornerstone Pub's Melbourne Cup festival.

Not only did she pick the winner but she and her friend Sharlene Nuthall placed a whopping $50 bet on the nose of Dunaden - and in the end only a tiny fraction of a nose separated Dunaden from Red Cadeaux in yesterday's race. It capped off an amazing afternoon for Karen who earlier won a $500 voucher for being the best dressed woman at the pre-booked wine and dine event held under cover outside Cornerstone. She confessed to being absolutely stoked by her run of luck: "I'm feeling like a real winner but none of it would have happened without my mates from Frank Casey Suit Hire."

The two friends plan to spend their $410 winnings on a weekend away, probably in Auckland. It was the fourth year that the crowd from Frank Casey has booked a table at the Cornerstone and the first time that Karen has picked the winner. Her selection had nothing to do with studying the form of the world class field at Flemington. "Number 3 is my lucky number - that's all it was."

"I have never put $50 on a horse before. But when a mate gives you $50 what do you do?"

The deal was that Sharlene put up the stake if Karen picked the winner - so that was exactly what she did. "It is always a great Melbourne Cup afternoon here."

One of the owners of the Cornerstone Pub, Bev Tocker, looked just the part dressed up for the show ring. She was pleased by the good turnout in what was otherwise a fairly quiet and drizzly Melbourne Cup afternoon on The Strand.

Tables were booked by a big cross-section of Tauranga's corporate sector including Page Macrae Engineering, Steve's Plumbing and Gas, Langton's Lingerie and Tauranga City Council. "We are the ones that do it with style. Everyone has had a wonderful afternoon," Mrs Tocker said.

The best dressed man was won by Tim Nuthall and the best dressed couple were Papamoa's Luke and Shannen O'Brien.