A FEW weeks ago, following a trip to Turkey for the International Racing weekend, I called on Irish trainers to support the meeting and to send runners for 2016. At the time I said, thanks to information supplied by the weekend’s organisers, that any runner from this country would be the first to travel. Wrong.

I was delighted to hear from Michael Kauntze, now an equine litigation consultant and based near Gorey, and he reminded me that he had blazed the trail 22 years ago. The horse in question was Shrewd Idea and together they landed the Bosphorus Trophy, than a local Group 2 race that carried the not inconsiderable winner’s prize of £39,735. The colt had started his racing career in Ireland with victories in a maiden and a nursery, both at Gowran Park.