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.