THIS week I caught up with Peter Killeen ahead of his first flat meeting of the season next Saturday. I began by asking him how the jumps season went.

“Thankfully the weather was kind for our flagship event, the Ladbrokes Troytown Chase day, which was definitely the highlight of the season. There was a huge crowd to see Gordon Elliot winning the feature for the fourth time in a row with Mala Beach. While he didn’t match his record six winners from 2016, I think he was also happy with the excellent performance of Samcro in winning the Monksfield Novice Hurdle,” Peter said.

“Another highlight during the season was Footpad’s performance in a beginners’ chase in early November. Navan continues to be a springboard for the top Cheltenham performers.

“We are definitely due a bit of luck with the weather. Our first fixture this year had snow early in the morning but we managed to race. Our Boyne Hurdle day in February was hit with bad weather, and our March 3rd fixture was abandoned when the country was hit by the “beast from the east”. Snow caused us to postpone our March 18th fixture. There’s nothing you can do about the weather. It’s a case of swings and roundabouts and we have had a really good run in recent years.”

Racing all year and under both codes presents plenty of challenges, but Peter is full of praise for his team. He explained: “Having had record rainfall and all that snow, it has been a very challenging period. Navan has invested significantly in drainage and it has started to pay dividends as far as the ground is concerned.

“We are also extremely lucky to have such dedicated and experienced groundstaff. Donal Curtis heads up the track team and comes from a background of golf course maintenance. He has applied techniques used in the golf world to keep the track in terrific shape.

“Vincent Eivers’ vast experience and input is very reassuring. Paddy Graffin is our clerk of the course and very innovative, always making suggestions on how we can keep improving. He is great to work with.”

Navan is a springboard for top-class flat horses too, with recent stars like Fascinating Rock. Peter names a few others. “There are too many to mention but Yeats would obviously be a standout, not only having won the Vintage Crop twice but winning seven Group 1s and he is the only horse to win the Ascot Gold Cup four times. Leading Light springs to mind also, winning the Vintage Crop before going on to land the Ascot Gold Cup.

“Fame and Glory and Forgotten Rules would be others of note.”

Peter stresses the importance of feature races. “It always helps to have stakes races. They attract the bigger names who generate a buzz. I believe it’s a testament to the track that we were allocated races from the Curragh during its redevelopment, including the Irish Cesarewitch.”

The popularity of flat racing is growing at Navan, as Peter explains. “There is definitely a perception that National Hunt generates a lot more interest than the flat, but we are noticing more interest in the latter.

“Co Meath holds its head high in flat racing circles with Ger Lyons, who has had such a terrific season, only up the road. Colin Keane becoming champion jockey has helped to raise flat racing’s profile locally.

“With regard to sponsors it’s a bit like horses for courses; you might have more interest from a stud to sponsor a two-year-old race, whereas it may be a better fit for a bookmaker to sponsor a big National Hunt handicap.”