THE Yugoslav runner Magrana was the first winner of an international race in Turkey when, in 1990, he took the Istanbul Stakes. This was followed a year later by five races for overseas runners and Lester Piggott was among the winners, partnering Lucky Guest to victory. The son of Be My Guest was later to stand at stud in Ireland.

The Bosphorus Cup and Topkapi Trophy were given black type in 2003 and given group status, by international standards, six years later. They were joined by the Istanbul Trophy in 2013.

The Anatolia Trophy was made a listed race in the International Cataloguing Standards Book six years ago, though it is run locally as a Group 2 race.

The Bosphorus Cup was won in 2014 by Pethers Moon who went on to land the Group 1 Coronation Cup this year. European-trained horses filled the first three places in 2013, led home by the bin Suroor-trained Lost In The Moment.

British-trained horses have won seven of the last eight runnings of the Topkapi Trophy, starting with Pressing taking the honours on three successive occasions. He has been followed by Master Of Hounds, Producer, Glory Awaits and Toormore. Mike de Kock’s Musir was the other to win in the recent past.