YOU would be forgiven for assuming that when the Curragh decided to truncate their programme to facilitate their two-year redevelopment programme at the end of the 2016 season, it was a simple geographical decision to offload four meetings to Naas.

Naas is just a 20-minute drive away from the Curragh but that has probably been a challenge to the racecourse, along with the proximity of both Leopardstown and Punchestown, more than anything else down the years, and in any case, it just isn’t as simple as letting your nearest neighbour mind the house.

Naas had and has a lot of things going for it as a racecourse that continues to upgrade and invest on both sides of the white railing.

The adjacent graph details the investments and improvements made at the course in the last 10 years.

Couple this with Naas’s ability to cater for all distance races, with high safety limits allowing for big fields and you have a track that would have been a fair choice to cater for the Curragh races even if it was two hours away, never mind 20 minutes.

With the Curragh set to return in April, Naas will hold one more adopted fixture, the Irish Lincoln card which opens the flat turf season, before handing the reins back across to their nearest flat neighbours.

TAKE STOCK

With that in mind, now is a good time to take stock and reflecting on the two-year period, Naas racecourse manager Tom Ryan said: “I think the extra races we took on from the Curragh have dovetailed with our traditional programme perfectly.

“When you look across the results for the past two seasons, 15 individual Group 1 winners (previous to Naas run or subsequently) were seen competing at Naas and that’s a remarkable statistic.

Names like Alpha Centauri, U S Navy Flag, Minding, Caravaggio, Quiet Reflection, Saxon Warrior, Latrobe and Skitter Scatter immediately come to mind.

“The level of interest shown by British trainers to have runners at Naas continues to increase which is pleasing. The strength and depth right across the last two seasons has been really encouraging; I think it clearly shows that Naas naturally belongs at the top tier of Irish and European flat racing.”

Caravaggio won the Lacken Stakes at Naas last year before going on to win the Commonwealth Cup Photo: Healy Racing

And yet, it would be wrong to assume the last two years served as some sort of shot in the arm for the Naas flat racing programme, which has actually been steadily progressing since 2010 (see adjacent graph).

“In 2010, we recognised an increasing demand for good quality flat racing,” Ryan explains.

“We enjoyed working with Shane Doyle and Jason Morris of HRI over the last few years in pushing the Naas programme forward. Of course there is still lots to do. We want to improve further and one of the steps forwards must be to host a Group 1.

“If you go back – up until 1990, until the closure of the Phoenix Park, Ireland had three premier flat tracks. It does strike us as puzzling that now when Ireland is experiencing record levels of success internationally and we have a record number of flat horses in training that we continue to have only two premier tracks.

“Ireland needs another track to come up to that level and Naas is best placed to make that leap forward.”

This is the ambition for Naas and if you ask anyone at the course for the overall goal, they’ll tell you in two words: Group 1.

UNVEILING

It was interesting that when Naas unveiled its latest upgraded building earlier this year, the €2.8 million ‘Circle’ building, the racecourse chair Dermot Cantillon took an opportunity to criticise the order by which it is decided where the good races are held in Ireland.

He said: “There’s a status quo within Irish racing and I don’t think it serves us well. I think we should give fixtures to tracks which deserve them, to tracks that make the effort, the safe tracks, tracks that bring racing forward and show it in its best light. And that is not happening.

Racegoers enjoy the views from the new 'Circle' building at Naas Photo Healy Racing

“It is something that really should be examined.”

Ryan backs his chair’s views: “I think to be fair, our chair’s speech was a thought-provoking challenge to the industry to look at how things are organised in an open minded fashion. A competitive environment is needed in every walk of life if boundaries and standards are to be pushed forward.

“He was right to issue a rallying call to the industry and I hope the momentum he tried to create is maintained. We continue to have plenty of constructive input to contribute to a fixtures and race scheduling debate.”

PROUD

If Naas’s two-year takeover of four much recognised Curragh fixtures was an audition, Ryan believes the course has done itself proud. There has been a suggestion from some quarters that the track should keep at least one of the fixtures.

“It would never be our intention to aggressively target the Curragh fixtures – that’s not our place,” Ryan says, “but reflecting back, I think it is fair to say that a number of the Curragh fixtures probably worked better at Naas. The opening turf fixture has been a resounding success both years and we get a chance to run it again next year.

“The Beresford meeting was also hugely successful, being closer to Goffs in the run up to the Orby and the bloodstock people attended the meeting, in a similar way to the meetings at Saratoga and Newmarket during sales time.”

Naas has always had to fight hard for its fair share.

If you drive from the Curragh to Leopardstown, you’ll be halfway there not long after you pass by the Tipper road venue. Punchestown is just five minutes away. With the €72 million redevelopment at the Curragh nearing its completion and a €15 million worth of improvements set for Leopardstown this year, the bar is continually being risen, which is a positive, as Naas continues to jump higher.

Ryan adds: “Naas has found a way to differentiate itself from the bigger festival venues. We are aiming to become a high standard boutique type venue where race goers can see the very best horses in the world at close quarters, while also being closer to the men and women that lead our sport. That was the idea behind the ‘Circle’ building, to allow for such engagement.

“Once the building related improvements are completed I am really looking forward to at looking at further ways to bring the track forward. We have a new high qualified track foreman and he has some very exciting ideas.

“Our large band of very loyal sponsors is growing all the time, they appear to clearly relate to what we are trying to achieve. Our attendances have been very positive over the last couple of years.

“A good flat meeting at Naas is a very appealing proposition and people are voting with their feet in that regard. But Naas can do more for Irish and European flat racing. The people currently involved from the Board to the full time staff have the appetite to keep pushing forward.”

WHAT THE PROFESSIONALS SAY:

Aidan O’Brien – the trainer’s view

Naas has done terrifically well over the last 10 years ago and the track is an absolute credit to Tom Ryan, Dermot Cantillon and all the team there. They have been very proactive in making improvements and been an example for everyone else. The sprint course there is second to none and the round course has huge scope. I think they’ve absolutely every chance of gaining a Group 1 down the line - it’s a top-class track.

Chris Hayes – the jockey’s view

Naas is improving all the time, on and off the course, for the jockeys and the general public. They put an extension onto the weighroom recently, which was a good improvement, and the new building overlooking the track and parade ring looks very well. It’s a gradual process for them but they seem to be making good inroads. Naas is right to be striving for a Group 1 race, its the right sort of aspiration to have. A Group 1 sprint would not at all look out of place. We don’t have enough sprint tracks in Ireland and Naas is up there with the best, with the track bedding in lovely after the remedial work they did five years ago. You could sprint any horse up there.