NAVAN was a major beneficiary of recent upgrades made to the flat racing programme in Ireland and this year it will stages a couple of new listed races, primarily aimed at stayers. This was a further boost to the Co Meath track and followed on from the racecourse benefiting from the reorganisation of the fixture list due to the redevelopment of the Curragh.

Racecourse manager Peter Killeen was delighted on both counts. “I think it says a lot about the quality of the track and the excellent work carried out by the track team. When you have some of the top trainers, both National Hunt and flat, and indeed some of the top jockeys passing really positive comments, it’s really satisfying. There is the saying that ‘it takes a good horse to win at Navan’ and I believe there is truth in it, as Navan form generally stands up well. Our uphill finish definitely finds them out and has been compared to the climb at Cheltenham.”