THIS week’s rain was very welcome at Naas Racecourse which stages the €300,000 Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes on Monday.

It’s the second running of the event which is restricted to horses by sires who are EBF-eligible and whose progeny sold for a median price of no more than €75,000 at last year’s yearling sales. Prize money will be paid down to 12th place and there is also a €50,000 consolation race with prize money down to sixth.

“People call it a sales race but it is more than that,” said Naas manager Eamonn McEvoy this week. “It’s a great concept and is open to homebreds as well as sales horses. It’s not often horses of this value get to run for big money.”

Eamonn is hoping he might get a small share of the spoils himself. “I am in a syndicate that owns Chestnutter with Noel Meade. She finished third on her two runs to-date and we are hoping she might be rated high enough to get into the consolation race.

“The syndicate has been going for years. We had a National Hunt horse last year who unfortunately died. Noel said he had a filly ready to go on the flat, so why wait. She’s promising.”

Previous role

Eamonn has been in the hot seat at Naas for just over two years. In his previous role as manager of Rick Barnes’ Grangecon Stud he was well used to picking up prizes at racecourses all over Ireland. “Funnily enough, in my eight years working for Rick, we never had a winner at Naas! He had winners there before and afterwards.”

Having experienced at first-hand the facilities at so many tracks, Eamonn knows well what racehorse owners expect and deserve. In January 2018, Naas opened The Circle, which includes the Goffs owners and trainers lounge. It’s been very well received but unfortunately has been off-limits during Covid. Thankfully things are starting to open up again and just last week Naas welcomed back spectators for the first time.

“It’s vital the owner has an enjoyable day and it is something we try and do,” says Eamonn. “We have a new caterer, Lily & Wild, and they have put together a very nice menu. Even when they had to operate from a small van during Covid for industry workers, they did it to a high standard.”

Last week Naas took a step forward by opening up one of their restaurants with a ‘walk-through’ service. There is also a barbecue offering and the famous Lily & Wild truck is still dishing up delicious snacks and treats.

“The board have been very supportive too. They want good food and encourage us to continue upping the standard. For example, we have new coffee machines so patrons can finish off their meal with a proper cup.”

British runners

At time of our chat, Eamonn did not yet know if any British-based owners would be making the journey to Naas next Monday but it is something he would love to see. “Having English owners and horses here is something we thrive on. We feel we can show them good time. We pick them up at the airport ad we’ll put them up in Lawlor’s Hotel if there’s room. The feedback is good.

“At the start of every season we send a brochure to all British trainers, inviting them to have a runner at Naas. But I definitely think Brexit is responsible for a big drop in the number of travellers from Britain this year. The paperwork and costs are a pain and hopefully the authorities can make it easier for them.”

When the Tim Easterby-trained Art Power ran in and won the Lacken Stakes at Naas in July 2020 he was the first British horse to race in Ireland since Covid struck. “Archie Watson was a regular here too. We had a great system in place whereby the horseboxes would pull straight into Patrick Prendergast’s yard and he took the horse from there until it was ready to go back.”

Eamonn says he would love to get a British runner for the Grade 1 Lawlor’s of Naas Slaney Novice Hurdle in January but that won’t be easy, given the Irish domination at Cheltenham. “In my first year here I contacted the racing secretaries for the top 20 British trainers and told them our race was worth more than double the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown, and we still didn’t get an entry!”

Public engagement

Naas is always innovating and last year, even in the height of Covid, the track ran a very successful ‘Lockdown Heroes’ competition which saw members of the public nominate people who had gone above and beyond the call of duty to help their communities during the pandemic.

The racecourse selected 24 of the nominees and allocated each of them a horse in the inaugural running of the Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes. Unfortunately the ‘heroes’ could not attend the raceday but they reportedly got a great kick out of the initiative.

This year, Eamonn and his team decided to tweak things and invited the public to make a donation of any amount to Barrettstown, the children’s charity. Those who donated had their names entered for a draw and yesterday the 24 winners were allocated a runner in Monday’s race. The holder of the winning ticket will received a €5,000 holiday voucher from travel agent Eimer Hannon.

Eamonn reports: “The gentleman who won last year’s Lockdown Heroes competition is still going strong, volunteering at the Covid test centre in Tallaght. This year we said let’s get people to pay a small entry fee and give the money to Barrettstown. They are a great charity and have struggled a lot with funding lately.

“Katie Walsh took Thousand Stars up there one day, fair play to her, and she said it was a fantastic place. I recommend to anyone to give a few quid to Barrettstown at any time if they can.”

It is hoped that all 24 winners in the Barrettstown draw can be given a ticket for the races on Monday. Just 500 spectators are allowed and all proceeds for tickets sold are also going to Barrettstown.

Facilities

Next Monday’s weather forecast suggests a dry and bright day, but those heading to the track are advised it is an outdoor event.

“We have covered areas available but if it rains we can’t just bring people indoors. I think everyone understands and accepts that. It worked brilliantly the last day – we had great weather, a bit of live music, and just to have a bit of atmosphere back makes it better for us too. Racing behind closed doors has been tough.”

It’s also been hard on the finances for all racecourses. “We operated purely on media rights income for the past 17 months. We have no non-raceday activities. There were some scary times when racing was stopped but the board were very supportive and said no job was to go. We are of the belief we were lucky to be allowed keep going. It must have been very tough to have had no job during this time, so everyone here knuckled down and did what had to be done.

“The groundstaff kept coming in and maintained the track at all times. First of all, it took a lot of getting back after the National Hut season and then it needed a lot of watering during the dry spells. They could keep working as they were outdoors and socially distant at all times.”

Raceday protocols

Naas was, of course, the first track to stage a fixture when racing resumed after a 10-week break on June 8th, 2020. “Both HRI and the IHRB were brilliant. Sharleen O’Reilly (HRI operations manager) had a very hard job. Then there was Jennifer Pugh, Paul Murtagh and Niall Cronin from the IHRB – they did savage hours, driving all over the country making videos to show people the protocols.”

As evidence of how well the protocols were implemented, Eamonn recalls one incident. “We had a Health & Safety inspection during one meeting – it’s not something you look forward to. But the inspector was not allowed in until the Covid officers on duty took them through the raceday protocols! He was impressed by that and couldn’t find fault with anything. The people who drew up the protocols and put them in place deserve great credit. I was delighted to see Dr Pugh get an award recently.”

The Naas team look forward to the day when all the protocols can be relaxed and there is no limit on the number of racegoers allowed through the turnstile. “The demand from the public is still there, based on what we are seeing. I actually think Covid will be in the minds of people for a while and that a day’s racing will be seen as a great option for a day out, especially in the winter. Personally, I have no appetite for going into a packed pub at the moment. I’d prefer to have a pint outside.

“Maybe we will have full indoor dining back but, like a lot of other tracks, we won’t have all of our facilities available until such time as the jockeys and stewards are back in the weighroom. At the moment jockeys are getting changed in the Panoramic Restaurant and we really look forward to getting that back as it has a great atmosphere.”

Naas Racecourse always seems to be building or planning something, so don’t be surprised if there are more announcements before too long. “After The Circle was opened, we regrouped and got our finances back up. One thing we are watching is a local area plan which may put a road through our car park. It’s been going on a long time. If that happened, there could be some redevelopment needed. We’re always looking to improve.”