History Of Fashion and Harry Sexton (far side)© Photo Healy Racing
History Of Fashion (10/1) improved on last year's runner-up effort to land this year's renewal of Fairyhouse's Listed Bar One Racing "Guaranteed Overnight Prices" Porterstown Handicap Chase, crediting successful jockey Harry Sexton with a career highlight.
Twenty year old Sexton, with just five previous winners, had steered the ten-year-old to win at Down Royal last month and in today's 3m5f marathon, produced him from mid-field to eventually score by 1.25 lengths from Another Choice
Carlow-based winning trainer Pat Fahy later revealed “I bought him off James Whelan and I named him History Of Fashion because his relation, Height O'Fashion, was second to Arkle here: it's all a big story but it came right today.
“It's a great syndicate from Limerick and Clare, headed by Stephen Murphy. I'm very lucky with the very few owners I have: only for them there wouldn't be days like this. If you have a few owners it's amazing what you can do. They'll get some kick out of it.
“As long as we're buying horses we'll have days like this again.”
Regarding History Of Fashion, he said “it was a great run in last year's race and it just goes to show that form is form. He loves Fairyhouse and he won around Down Royal the last time. On some tracks he just won't operate around.
“He ran a similar race last year but went one better. He was then a good fifth in the Irish National when iit wasn't a typical National last year, and we snuck in. We had a great day out finished fifth so it was like winning.
“The ground drying out makes such a difference to this horse. If the ground is soft and loose he can manage but if it was even quicker today that would be his ground. There aren't many options over 3m5f and to get good ground, we might have to now go to England.”
Quotes from Gary Carson
