IT was heartache for Aidan O’Brien, Coolmore and Christophe Soumillon in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on what was otherwise a glorious weekend in Paris for Irish connections.

A Joseph O’Brien 1-2 with Tennessee Stud and Emit in the Group 2 Prix Chaudenay on Saturday set the ball rolling into a Group 1 treble on Sunday horses trained in Ireland. Diamond Necklace is very much living up to the hype - and her €1.7 million pricetag - on the evidence of her silky success in the Prix Marcel Boussac, while Puerto Rico is leaving his early-season form well behind, as evidenced by his win in the Lagardere.

Perhaps the most popular win of the weekend came in the Prix de l’Opera thanks to Jessica Harrington and Shane Foley’s Barnavara. Who knows where her improvement might end? One Look gave the impression she still has more to give when third in the same contest, while She’s Quality did the Jack Davison team proud in earning well-deserved Group 1 blacktype in the Prix de l’Abbaye. She’s been a credit to her connections in terms of her consistency all season long.

A near miss with Minnie Hauk would naturally have stung for the Ballydoyle team, but a Group 1 double on the weekend means O’Brien is still in the hunt for potentially breaking his own record for most Group 1/Grade 1 wins in a calendar. The exploits of juvenile aces Diamond Necklace and Puerto Rico leave him on 21 wins for 2025 - two shy of where he was at this point in 2017 (when he set the current world-best of 28).

In that 2017 season, O’Brien captured the Darley Dewhurst Stakes on this weekend with US Navy Flag (he actually saddled the 1-2-3-4!). Keeping as close as possible to the record pace will be important when Gstaad heads to Newmarket for the same event at Newmarket on Saturday.

In another world, Gstaad could actually have already put O’Brien on 23 Group 1 wins; like in 2017. He came within a short-neck of winning the Prix Morny against Venetian Sun, and a head of the National Stakes behind Zavateri. Fine margins indeed.

For all that the Ballydoyle team have been lighting it up on the big stage all year, this season has nearly had as many close defeats as victories at the highest level. Yes, a total of 21 Group 1 wins come early October is a superb feat, but O’Brien is arguably unlucky not to be well ahead of that on the balance of his season’s results.

His fillies in particular often haven’t quite got the bounce of the ball.

Close margins

January failed by just a head in the Prix Rothschild when runner-up to Fallen Angel during the summer, and was only denied by half a length when second to Cinderella’s Dream in the Falmouth. Fellow three-year-old Exactly was denied by just half a length in her Matron Stakes second to Fallen Angel too.

Bedtime Story came up only a length short in second from stall 12 in the Prix de Diane (winner drawn in stall one), while the obvious recent example of a Ballydoyle three-year-old filly being marginally touched off was Minnie Hauk on Sunday. Her Arc defeat excruciatingly only came by a head.

True Love was another Group 1 second for O’Brien in the Phoenix Stakes - taking up a place originally intended for Gstaad before a hold-up meant running plans had to change at the 11th hour. Another two-year-old who rattled the crossbar was Brussels, caught in the shadows of the post by Wise Approach in the Middle Park Stakes when a three-quarter-length second.

Gstaad (left) has strong credentials for the Darley Dewhurst Stakes after finishing second to Zavateri in the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes \ Healy Racing

If that wasn’t enough, Trinity College would have picked up another Group 1 for team Ballydoyle but for Leffard chinning him on the line by a short-head in the Grand Prix de Paris.

A short-neck and a short-head was the difference between victory and defeat for The Lion In Winter when a close-up third in the Prix Jean Prat (form since franked by runner-up Maranoa Charlie winning the Foret on Sunday), while the same colt was beaten a near-identical narrow margin when third in the Prix du Moulin too.

You could throw in Illinois as another Group 1 second for connections in 2025, though, in fairness, he was soundly beaten by Trawlerman in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

It all adds up to 13 Group 1 seconds, or defeats by less than half a length at the highest level, so far this year. A few more favourable bounces of the ball could have made the world record attempt look even more likely for O’Brien.

On top of that, what would his tally be shaping like now if he still had the likes of Kyprios, Lake Victoria, Fairy Godmother, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Camille Pissarro and Twain in his arsenal? Setbacks and retirements have curtailed opportunities to see them in action through the year. There is also uncertainty as to whether we’ll see Delacroix again this autumn.

With many of the major international end-of-season Group 1 cards still to come, there will certainly still be opportunities for O’Brien to give the record of 28 a real rattle.

In different circumstances, however, he could have been in line to break it with plenty of time to spare. Over to you next, Gstaad.