VICTORY for Minnie Hauk in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks last Saturday meant that Aidan O’Brien is technically on pace to at least match his world record-setting season of 2017 when he recorded a staggering 28 Group 1/Grade 1 wins.

Minnie Hauk made it 11 top-flight successes for team Ballydoyle in 2025 - the same number they had notched by this stage of the year in 2017. The back-end of the campaign has often been most kind to the Co Tipperary operation, with so many big international pots to be hunted. Whether he manages to smash his own record will be a storyline worth watching through the second half of the year.