History Of Fashion has lofty ambitions

Richie Condon returned from serious injury with a winner at Down Royal today, landing the Molson Coors Handicap Chase on History Of Fashion whose trainer Pat Fahy will now chart an old-fashioned National route.

Condon partnered Paul Hennessy's Heaven Help Us to win the Coral Cup in March and The Mean Queen to win the American Grand National last summer but fracturing vertabrae in a fall three months ago and returned with one unplaced ride at Thurles on Thursday.

Today Condon steered 119-rated History Of Fashion to a staying eight lengths win over Dubai Devils

Winning trainer Fahy later revealed “he comes from the family of Height Of Fashion (runner-up to Arkle in the 1964 Irish Grand National) and I was trying to sell him one time and told everybody about this, but they wouldn't listen.

“I said 'I'll win the Irish National - we won't have Arkle to beat!' but they were laughing at me. It's very much on the cards now as needs a trip and if it was another mile. he'd just be coming into it.

“He jumps a bit to the right but he is a lovely horse and I'm delighted with that.”

History Of Fashion's win came, appropriately, half an hour after the Dreaper family's Mr Bercow s win in a handicap chase.

Quotes from Michael Graham