A ‘BUSINESS as usual’ sign would be appropriate at the entrance to the Curragh. Ahead of its first meeting of the year next weekend, it will stage 18 in all, Derek McGrath and his team have had a trial day which went well and now they are itching to kick off with the real thing.

The redevelopment will take until December 2018 to complete but the management team have put in place many provisions to make sure racegoers enjoy the best facilities possible in the interim. Planning requirements prohibit any more than 6,000 racegoers, so Derek is advising people to book early.