Bolshoi Ballet was a disappointing favourite in the Cazoo Derby for Aidan O’Brien, but all in all, last weekend still saw an excellent return for the Ballydoyle trainer.

Firstly, he won the Oaks for a ninth time, with Snowfall’s remarkable 16-length winning performance breaking the record for the longest winner in the race’s 242-year history.

The daughter of Deep Impact also provided Frankie Dettori with a 21st classic success as for the second time this season he found himself on the right O’Brien three-year-old filly in a classic, with Ryan Moore on favourite Santa Barbara.

Following sustained rain all day at Epsom last Friday, the runners for the classic migrated towards the stand side rail, which often has quicker ground when the conditions turn soft, but from inside the two-furlong marker, the contest was all over.

“I’ve won many Classics but not one as easily as that,” Dettori said after the race. “I knew I was at least eight in front. It is quite remarkable because I pulled up by the stables and everyone pulled up by the winning post!”

Then on Sunday, O’Brien’s St Mark’s Basilica completed a rare French classic double in the Prix du Jockey Club, the French equivalent of the Derby.

Local rider Ioritz Mendizabal was in the saddle this time, just as he had been for the son of Siyouni’s win in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, and it was another smooth performance as his mount picked up impressively to comfortably see off his 18 rivals.

The win finally corrected a strange omission from O’Brien’s CV as the trainer had previously sent out 39 horses without success in the race and perhaps this omission was a factor in the much publicised decision from the Coolmore partners to run just one colt in the Epsom Derby on Saturday (Van Gogh ran in Chantilly instead).

That strategy was seen as a big vote of confidence in Bolshoi Ballet but the well touted favourite disappointed and it was left to Adayar to seize the opportunity in sparkling fashion for Godolphin.

The story of the race was the winning jockey Adam Kirby, who scored his first classic success, having earlier been moved off the better fancied John Leeper, whose trainer Ed Dunlop decided to use Frankie Dettori once he had belatedly become available.