Winners on and off track

Kelli Odell of Sydney poses with the Mercedes-Benz she won at Ellerslie. Photo / Getty Images

The fabulous and fashionable were out to play as Auckland Cup Week kicked off at Ellerslie yesterday.

More than 11,000 people - including billionaire Owen Glenn, All Black Ali Williams and Outrageous Fortune star David Fane - turned up for the $2.2 million Telecom New Zealand Derby, one of the richest races in the Southern Hemisphere.

The race was won by Military Move, ridden by Michael Walker and trained by Cambridge-based Shaune Ritchie.

But another big winner was Kelli Odell, a 20-year-old student from Sydney, who stole the show at the Mercedes Prix de Fashion event.

Odell, who is on holiday in New Zealand with her mother, walked away with a $100,000 prize package, including a Mercedes car.

Wearing a 1950s-inspired outfit - complete with a petticoat and paisley pattern - Odell caught the judges' eyes over the other contestants.

"I'm pretty stunned about it at the moment. I haven't come to terms with it yet," she said. "I'm just on holiday with mum and I always wanted to come and enter it. I've been in a few other fashion events and I've just kind of got addicted to it.

"I'm really excited though - I've never won a prize like this."

Cup Week continues today with the Stella Artois Auckland Cup Day on Wednesday.