It was hats, high heels and waistcoats at the Bathurst races on Sunday when a group of Wentworth Falls friends and neighbours gathered to cheer on their horse, Oywotzy.
The little bay gelding cost just over $3000 to buy and has since racked up prizemoney of nearly $90,000, leaving his co-owners pinching themselves.
Trainer Dean Mirfin said he bought the horse at a "mixed sales" in Sydney.
"Generally it's rubbish that goes through them so you can buy cheap horses. It's rare that you get one that goes good," he said.
"I saw Oywotzy and he was tiny - that's why he was cheap. I was hoping he would just grow enough."
His neighbours in Bermuka Avenue on the south side of Wentworth Falls, Sue Gainsford-Holland and Jeremy Shadlow, were invited to come on board.
"I've known Dean for about 10 years and we share a passion for horse racing," said Ms Gainsford-Holland, whose uncle, Les Coles, won the 1967 Melbourne Cup as jockey on Even Stevens.
"We used to joke about getting a horse together and when Dean told me he had a really nice one I said, 'OK, I'm in'."
Mr Shadlow said he "ummed and aahed" a bit at the same invitation but eventually also bought a share of Oywotzy.
And Mike Antarakis and his wife, Charmaine, from the other side of the village, were also ready to join in a new venture. Charmaine grew up in Queensland and had been around horses all her life, she said.
"And this one's a real sook. I've never known one as affectionate as him. If he was a person, everyone would love him."
Mr Mirfin had been a horse trainer two decades ago but gave it away and ended up working behind the bar at Wentworth Falls Country Club. It was a conversation with one of the patrons that made him think about returning to the game.
"We were watching the races and I said, 'I could train that horse". I was almost feeling sorry for myself. He got quite angry and said, why don't you f...ing well do it then? I only learnt later that he had aggressive cancer and was dying. It made me think, why don't I?"
The opportunity came when he backed Americain to win the 2010 Melbourne Cup. He won enough to buy his own horse, which he eventually ended up training. Then he found Oywotzy.
His co-owners, as novices, didn't quite know what to expect when their horse started racing and were amazed when he clocked up two seconds in his first three runs.
"It was just a fluke," Ms Gainsford-Holland said. "But it got so if he didn't come in the top three we wondered what was going on."
"It's been unbelievable," Mr Antarakis said. "Every time he goes out he tries his heart out and that's all you can ask."
Unfortunately, there was no happy ending to the dream on Sunday. The race was held up with a late scratching at the starting gates and Oywotzy played up, hitting his head in the barrier. He finished 11th and ended up on a course of antibiotics because of his injuries.
"It didn't work out how we all hoped but that's racing, isn't it," said Mr Mirfin.