This is the time of year when Pat Keating gets as close to having a nine-to-five job as he ever will again. The hectic activity of the last flat race season is two months behind, the 1999 season is over three months in the future.

He will even be able to take a few weeks off work. To see him now is to see routine. It's a time for re-charging the batteries. A necessary time because come next April those batteries will have to be charged to the limit.

Keating is the travelling head lad at Aidan O'Brien's, all-conquering Ballydoyle stables. That means every horse O'Brien has at the races has been driven there by Keating. Every horse sent abroad to race by O'Brien is looked after by Keating.

In short, when the King Of Kings and Istabraqs of this world are in transit, they are the responsibility of the 32-year-old Athy man. It's hardly the high profile responsibility of a Mick Kinane or an O'Brien, but an upset, sweating, fragile thoroughbred stepping off a horsebox can ruin months of preparation. High profile or not, Keating's job is vital.

The King Of Kings and Istabraqs of this world are the highlights, though. During the height of the summer, Keating is on the road seven days a week, driving from Cashel to wherever racing is. It's a schedule that would make most of us wince but not him.

"That's the job and I enjoy it. It's a lot of miles in a year, especially when the likes of Sligo are five hours each way and I have to be there two hours before the first race, but I honestly don't mind it," he says.

It's a job that requires a lot of family understanding, however. Keating's wife Catherine and his three-yearold son Luke make the most of this time of the year.

"Catherine says we have a marriage made in heaven - she never sees me! But she knows that it's all part of the job. We met when I was working here for Vincent (O'Brien) and she knows that all this comes with me."

The job may be time-consuming, but rarely can it have been more exciting. The Ballydoyle that Keating first joined was winding down under Vincent O'Brien but is now burgeoning into the most significant racing power base in Europe under his youthful namesake. 1998 only emphasised the point and Keating was typically in the middle of it.

"Personally King Of Kings winning the 2,000 Guineas was the high point. He proved the faith Aidan had in him all the time and I looked after him in the yard, too. A lot was said and written about his temperament, but he was in fact an absolute gentleman to deal with. He just liked showing off.

"But I suppose for everyone in the yard Istabraq winning the Champion Hurdle was special. You had to be at Cheltenham to really experience it. Leading him in afterwards was something to remember. Aidan had told us he would win, but I don't think anyone thought he would murder them the way he did," he says.

It was an experience that once again justified Keating's decision to make a career in racing. Despite no family background in the sport, he worked for trainers Willie Bourke and Mickey Browne before joining Ballydoyle. When Vincent O'Brien retired, Keating worked for a time in a pharmaceutical factory in Cashel, but what he calls the "racing bug" was not long in catching again.

"I came back here during Aidan's second season and I could never say anything bad against him. He's a gentleman and treats everyone exactly the same," he says. In return, Keating was given his highly responsible position, looking after bloodstock that costs millions.

"Touch wood, nothing has ever happened in the box or on the plane. I suppose it does cross my mind about how valuable some of the horses are, but every precaution is taken and we always give ourselves plenty of time. Anyway the roads are so busy now that you have to concentrate all the time.

"The horses are not roughed about in any way and keeping them happy keeps us in a job. We try and travel at a constant speed and keep things smooth. For instance, if there is a junction I'll start slowing down from quarter of a mile before it. There is no jumping on the brakes or anything. We have monitors in the cab to check the horses out and one of the lads will go back every 15 minutes to make sure," he says.

Definitely the most conspicuous route taken by Keating this year was when the three Ballydoyle runners in the Epsom Derby were delayed on transit from Ireland. When the plane finally landed, the horseboxes containing King Of Kings, Second Empire and Saratoga Springs were accompanied by a police escort and TV cameras.

"That was blown out of all proportion. A big thing was made out of nothing. There was never any panic and I wasn't aware of TV cameras and helicopters following us. We were just doing a job, the horses were happy and they ran as well as they were at the time," says Keating.

There were countless other trips to Britain through the year, as well as to France, Italy and a first visit for Keating to America with Second Empire for the Breeders Cup.

"That was a wonderful experience. It's a completely different set up over there to home and it was great to see it," he says.

For the moment, though, Keating's life is relatively static. He is busy breaking yearlings, travelling to the occasional meeting with Istabraq, and contemplating taking a holiday before Cheltenham in March.

"I have no ambitions to train because I wouldn't have the backing, so I just hope to continue in the job. Maybe one day I will work full time in the yard, but I'm very happy to keep going as I am. After all, in Ballydoyle there is always the chance of a good horse appearing every year," he says.