The Grand National should have been all about the horses, but it was Coleen McLoughlin who was the main event at Aintree on Ladies Day. All eyes were on Wayne Rooney's 21-year-old fiancée as she and 11 pals settled into a private VIP box – a 21st birthday present from her football star fiancée - after almost £10,000 worth of bets were placed on what colour hat she would be wearing.
Bookies - who had offered odds on a variety of shades, with white the favourite and a Manchester United design at 500/1 - were forced to offer refunds after she turned up without a titfer. Coleen, who wore a boho-chic design by Project Catwalk winner Kirsty Doyle, completed her look with a scattering of pretty braids instead.
The pretty blonde was back at the track the following day - this time shading her face with a floppy Biba hat - to present a prize to the winner of a modelling competition. By coincidence, it turned out to be a former school friend, 21-year-old Steven Wang. "I was at school with Coleen and Wayne so I know them both," he said after Coleen had presented him with the prize, a Citroen car.
He wasn't the only one enjoying a winning day. Style icon Coleen also received a windfall after backing the winner of the big race.
When asked why she wasn't watching her fiancé play in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final - during which he netted two goals for Manchester United - a frank Coleen admitted: "I'd rather come here."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
