Usain Bolt king of Crown marquee at Flemington on Ladies Day

Cartoon: Rod Clement

Surrounded by beautiful, skimpily dressed women, the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, was already doing well in the VIP section of Crown’s ­private trackside enclosure at Flemington on Oaks day.

And then he placed a bet on Mihany in race three’s Melbourne Mile, fittingly a race with “no sex restriction”.

Usain Bolt and his fellow race watchers at Oaks Day.

“Come on, come on, come on …

Usain Bolt and his winning ticket at Oaks Day.

“I won,” Bolt screamed. “My first bet and I won. Easy! Easy money!”

Usain Bolt and his cash at Oaks Day.

As best we could spy, the ­senior lieutenants of billionaire James Packer’s Crown gaming empire were keeping their distance — perhaps a sensible ­precaution as 18 of their staff ­(including three Australians) remain locked up in prison in the People’s Republic of China.

But at least their star Jamaican import Bolt — who attended the spring carnival at a rumoured cost north of $300,000 to Crown — was enjoying himself.

“Well done!” he hollered at Mihany’s young apprentice jockey Regan Bayliss as he rode past after his winning ride.

The nine-time Olympic gold medallist — dressed in a cream linen suit, with a indigo blue shirt and red tie, set off with a whopping gold watch — then returned his attention to a cascade of beauties in his exclusive, trackside perch.

Word in the tent was that great effort had gone into the ­selection of Bolt’s fellow race watchers. Oaks is “Ladies Day”, after all.

This one in a short, white dress, that one in a meshed blue top, another in black with a plunging neckline — a veritable Melbourne Cup field for Bolt.

Good to see someone in the greater Crown empire is having fun.

Hawkins and Umbers.

Bevy for Myer boss

At the other end of the finishing straight in the Birdcage, Myer chief executive Richard Umbers was also entertaining a bevy of women.

The ASX-listed retailer yesterday held its inaugural Ladies Day lunch.

“We’re trying something a bit different,” Umbers told us before heading in with the store’s face Jennifer Hawkins for the private sit-down lunch with trainer Gai Waterhouse, Nine’s Sylvia Jeffreys and a chosen coterie of “successful, influential and dynamic women”.

Umbers, almost two years into his turnaround of the department store, looked sharp in a blue Herringbone suit (the outfitter runs a concession out of Myer) and Dom Bagnato boots (no prizes for guessing from which store).

From head to toe, there was nothing Bernie Brookes about him.

David Attenborough.

Tabcorp bets big

A few marquees along, a relaxed Tabcorp boss David Attenborough was holding court.

“We will have to double the size next year to fit all those Queenslanders,” he said of Tabcorp’s plans for the Birdcage next year once its $11 billion merger has completed — competition tsar Rod Sims permitting.

Can’t wait to see racing tragic and Tatts chair Harry Boon next year. Boon is the only one of the lotteries giant’s board slated to join the post-merger Tabcorp — and we gather the Queensland-based businessman has had a right case of Flemington envy this spring carnival.

In good news for Boon, Attenborough — who’d made some cash on Melbourne Cup winner Almandin on Tuesday — predicted regulatory approvals for the long-awaited deal could take until the middle of next year, still well before Cup Week.

His chair Paula Dwyer, who like Attenborough will retain her position in the merged entity, was pleased to see jockey Michelle Payne arrive at Tabcorp unannounced, having made a quick costume change after her winning ride in the first race.

Like Attenborough, Dwyer was a warm and welcoming host, with The Oaks crowd heavily populated by footballers, past and present. Australian Hotels Association boss Paddy O’Sullivan was also on -board, as was Geelong Football Club boss Brian Cook.

Leigh Clifford.

Rankin out of play

Over in Barry Brown’s Emirates, Qantas chair Leigh Clifford was representing the flying kangaroo as he enjoyed the hospitality of its global partner, after his CEO Alan Joyce flew the flag on Tuesday.

Former Rio Tinto boss Clifford looked a happy man — a form guide in one hand, white wine in the other.

Virgin Australia director Sam Mostyn was also along in the Birdcage, but no sign in our travels of Crown chair Rob Rankin, either in Emirates, where he was set to attend, or his gaming group’s spot at the other end of the track.

With Crown’s China problems and breaking reports in the US about his boss James Packer’s $65m unsigned prenup to former Fantasy fiancee Mariah Carey, forgive Rankin if he was too busy to drop in.

Tinkler still in market

Horse-loving coal boganaire Nathan Tinkler was also well away from Flemington yesterday.

Nathan Tinkler was well away from Flemington yesterday.

Instead, Tinkler was trekking through the Sydney CBD — with shaved head and black backpack — with a slick-looking investment banking type.

His well-timed investment in Australian Pacific Coal has made him paper profits in the tens of millions, so we expect more high-risk coal deals are in train.

Time to cash out

Have UBS property guru Tim Church and his Swiss banking bosses Matthew Grounds and Guy Fowler formed a view that the commercial property market has peaked?

ANZ chief financial officer Michelle Jablko.

The investment bankers and their consortium of heavy- hitting contemporaries have put their Springhill shopping centre in Melbourne’s southeast on the market, hoping for a $45m-plus sale price.

The investors, who also comprise Minister for Revenue Kelly O’Dwyer’s UBS banker hubbie Jon Mant, his colleagues Kelvin Barry, Geoff Davis, Peter Crossing and Anthony Sweetman, and former UBS-ers Tim Antonie, Quentin Miller and Peter Scott, seem to think this is as good as it gets.

The syndicate paid $23m for the retail hub in Cranbourne in May 2012, with the asset being flogged by CBRE’s Mark Wizel, who is Melbourne’s commercial property go-to agent.

It’s particularly awkward for Barry and Church, who are working on a REIT spin-off for James Packer’s Crown that they’ll want to flog to the market.

And it’s handy cash for Mant, who with O’Dwyer is having his second child.

Biggest winners from a successful sale will be Grounds and Fowler, who have about 10 per cent of the consortium each. If sale estimates are correct that’ll mean a $4.5m payday.

The only unhappy punter might be ANZ finance boss Michelle Jablko, who was a banker at UBS for many years before shifting to Greenhill and then the big four.

When still at the Swiss bank she was asked to be part of the syndicate, but declined. You can’t win ’em all.