In Pictures: Weather makes the biggest splash at Cheltenham Ladies Day

Crowds have returned to the Cheltenham Festival this week, a year after racing’s equivalent of the Olympics was staged behind closed doors due to the pandemic.

Wednesday brought the punters out in their finery for Ladies Day, and they shrugged off some miserable weather to make up for the lost year at the famous Gloucestershire event.

The day started with a special heritage steam train service taking racegoers to the site on Ladies Day.

The train service proved popular (Ben Birchall/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Ben Birchall

Racegoers leave the carriages at Cheltenham station (Ben Birchall/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Ben Birchall

Attendees were all smiles on their way to the races (Ben Birchall/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Ben Birchall

GB News presenters Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster pose for pictures with racegoers (Steven Paston/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Steven Paston

Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary celebrates after his horse, Commander Of Fleet, won the Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Mike Egerton/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Mike Egerton

The Princess Royal shelters from the rain (Mike Egerton/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Mike Egerton

Harry Redknapp in the parade ring before the Glenfarclas Chase (Andrew Matthews/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Andrew Matthews

The crowd takes shelter (David Davies/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - David Davies

Racegoers try their best not to get drenched (Mike Egerton/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Mike Egerton

But the miserable weather could not dampen the spirits (Andrew Matthews/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Andrew Matthews

(Steven Paston/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Steven Paston

(Steven Paston/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Steven Paston

Paul Townend celebrates ploughing through the mud to win the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase on Energumene (Tim Goode/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Tim Goode

Jockeys head for the showers (David Davies/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - David Davies