Fashionable fillies can't get enough of Dear John

John Key is hopeful of overcoming women's traditional reluctance to vote National. Photo / Getty Images

"You've got a wife!" one of the men at the races reminded National leader John Key as he disappeared under yet another flutter of fascinators.

"I know," Mr Key called back. "And I can't afford a divorce."

If last week was about wooing the provincial vote and the Chinese vote, yesterday was all about the lovely fillies of Christchurch.

The women were all frocked up in their finest and celebrating the first Cup Day since the Christchurch earthquakes. They were happy and Mr Key was the beneficiary.

He smiled and primped and pecked cheeks and bathed in their adulation. He gave them all his tip for the day: his "wild card" Choise Achiever or Smiling Shard.

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One woman stood on the balcony above, yelping "Joooooohhhhhnnnnn" at top volume, over and over, until he turned and waved. When he turned back she resumed, more forlornly, "Jooohhhnnn, Jooohhhnnn."

Racing Minister Craig Foss looked on. "For some reason, we didn't have this problem with Don Brash," he observed of the former National leader.

The men with the women also looked on. "You can't only talk to the women," a couple of them told Mr Key. It earned him a brief moment and the Choise Achiever tip.

In general, the men had no show. They couldn't get through the women.

"I'm next with Justin Bieber," one said as she waited her turn for a photo.

"I wore blue today just for you, John," another tramped over the petunias to tell him, giggling in her audacity.

Eventually some men caved in and joined the love-fest. "John, I love you and want to have your babies," one yelled from the other side of the track. Others took a harder line. One held two beers. "I'd shout you one, John, but I had to queue for 10 minutes."

Afterwards Mr Key laughed when it was pointed out he was quite a hit with the women. He may have even looked a little smug, despite his protestations that Phil Goff was wrong to describe him as such.

"That's nice. Right-wing parties don't normally do so well with females so it's good we're holding our own."

He pointed out that there used to be a 20-point gap between National and Labour with the female vote. Asked if he was turning that around, he said, "Trying to. We'll see how it goes."

Smug? John Key? But he was off again. His ladies were waiting. And somewhere in the stands above him one Winston Peters could only watch. The only consolation was that Mr Key's tip was a dud.