WHAT a difference a week makes. Some might have been making noises over just how strongly Aidan O’Brien’s three-year-olds had been firing in the classic trials, with early-season defeats for the likes of Albert Einstein, Pierre Bonnard, Action, New Zealand, Beautify, Isaac Newton and Flushing Meadows.

However, not for the first time by any means, things now look an awful lot different for the world-leading operation a few days later. But for the presence of Bow Echo, we’d have been hailing Gstaad as one of the more impressive 2000 Guineas winners in recent memory, having pulled eight lengths clear of the third, and True Love continued her perfect start to the season with a stellar display in the 1000 Guineas.

Fast forward to this week at Chester, and it was complete dominance from the Coolmore team. Victory for Lambourn in yesterday’s Huxley Stakes meant O’Brien completed a clean sweep of all five blacktype races at the festival. It also brought the stable’s record to nine winners from the previous 12 races they’d been represented in. They really are hitting form.

As summed up by True Love’s jockey Wayne Lordan on this week’s episode of The Racing Edge Podcast (by The Irish Field): “I don’t take any notice [of talk around Ballydoyle’s early-season form] because every year it’s the same conversation… Aidan’s horses are the same every year; some horses take a run [on their seasonal return] and some don’t, but they stay improving all year to the end.”

And just like every other year, O’Brien has his string coming to hand in time for a key time of the season.

French fancies

Sunday’s French 2000 Guineas (2.50) has been a happy hunting ground for the Co Tipperary team in recent years, winning two of the last five renewals, and Puerto Rico (Ryan Moore) is bound to be in the thick of it this time if returning the sort of form he signed off 2025 in.

The dual Group 1 winner of the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and Criterium International will be joined by Goffs Million and Killavullan Stakes scorer Dorset (Christophe Soumillon) in the Emirates Essai Poulains.

Diamond Necklace is the star turn for Ballydoyle in the French 1000 Guineas (3.25), out to maintain her unbeaten record at the scene of where she won last year’s Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac at ParisLongchamp. It will be her first time teaming up with Ryan Moore in a race when lining up in the Emirates-backed Poule d’Essai Pouliches.

Closer to home on Sunday, Pierre Bonnard (Wayne Lordan) gets his chance at remaining towards the top end of the Betfred Derby conversation in the Group 3 Cashel Palace Hotel Derby Trial Stakes (3.40) at Leopardstown, though – strictly on the form of his underwhelming reappearance in the Ballysax Stakes – he has five and a half lengths to find on stablemate Endorsement (Ronan Whelan).

Elsewhere, Composing (Ryan Moore) tries 10 furlongs for the first time in the Group 2 Prix Saint-Alary (12.50) at ParisLongchamp, and Isaac Newton (also Moore) has a chance to build on his comeback Feilden Stakes fourth in the Listed William Hill Lingfield Derby Trial (1.52). It is a weekend with plenty of classic clues, and one suspects the picture will look a lot clearer in the mile and Derby divisions after the dust has settled on the next two days.

Aga Khan threat

Puerto Rico heads to France as a best-priced 6/4 shot for his classic assignment, and Diamond Necklace is no bigger than 5/4 for the fillies’ equivalent. Bookmakers anticipate the biggest challenge will come from the Francis Graffard and Aga Khan Studs’ runners in each of the contests: Rayif (2000) and Narissa (1000).

Nemone Routh, racing manager of Aga Khan Studs, said: “Rayif worked very well on Tuesday morning. He reassured us, and I really felt that we were seeing the horse we know again. He will be tackling 1,600 metres for the first time. That does not particularly worry us, as he is a relaxed horse who does not pull and knows how to settle before producing his turn of foot. The big unknown remains the weather. If it rains a lot and the ground becomes very soft, without a prep run, that could make things more complicated. He is clearly more effective on a fast track.”

Turn of foot

On his lack of a prep run this season (absent since third to Puerto Rico on Arc day last October), she added: “We were coming out of a slightly difficult period at the yard, with several horses not running as well. We therefore preferred to give him time. Today, he is back to his best level in training, which is encouraging. He is a straightforward, well-made horse with a very good turn of foot.”

As for last-time-out Prix de la Grotte runner-up Narissa, Routh added: “She worked well last Tuesday. Her latest race is very interesting, especially as the winner, Evolutionist,finished second in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket. Narissa is a filly who absolutely has to be covered up in order to show her full ability.

“She has a real turn of foot and seems capable of adapting to different types of ground, even though she may be slightly better on good ground.”