“It was the best of times and the worst of times” begins Charles Dickens` most famous novel, A Tale of Two Cities (published in 1859), a vivid portrait of the bloody French Revolution.

By far the best of times put up on France`s racing event of the year at Longchamp in Paris was by Daryaz in winning the £2.4m Qatar Prix de l`Arc de Triomphe - for the second successive year. Defeat for the French favourite, darling of the Parisian crowd, could have provoked another revolution.

It was the first time a colt had won the race in successive years since Alleged in 1978 and 1979.

Ah, now comes the revealing news (only whispered) that Alleged was rated 138 for the first of his Arcs with Lester Piggott, and 140 for the second. Daryz`s (Sea The Stars-Daryakana by Selkirk) ratings have not changed from 127 since his first Arc and it will take a lot of gerrymandering to raise that figure substantially for his victory last Sunday – despite the fast time.

Second and third, Bay City Roller (New Bay-Bloomfield by Teofilo) and Diamond Necklace (St Mark`s Basilica-Prudenzia by Dansili) had to race from ‘coffin` draws out in the Bois de Boulogne – 15 and 16 of the sixteen stalls, and yet the four-year-old colt and the three-year-old filly finished within two lengths of the winner. And the first ten home were all within five lengths of one another.

A coterie of Indian racing worthies turned up to support Shapoor Mistry`s Thundering On (Frankel-Thundering Night by Night of Thunder) and they may have been left disconsolate by her 8th placing though she was under five lengths behind the winner. And though Mickael Barzalona rode an exemplary race on the winner, the former champions of Britain and France, Oisin Murphy on the runner-up and Christophe Soumillon on the third, had to work miracles to get their mounts so close.

Bay City Roller from the UK (trained at Newmarket by George Scott who had a career changing meeting of success) finished precisely the same distance behind Daryz as he had done in the Prix Foy Arc Trial at Longchamp last month. And admirable an animal as Bay City Roller is, in four previous visits to Longchamp he had never tasted victory.

Daryz has been raised to greatness already but on strict calculations he is not the talisman that racing seeks, when the game`s fortunes are ebbing – which they are now in both France and the UK. It isn`t quite “The Worst of Times” but it`s going to need a revolution in thinking to stem the tide of bad news – rising taxation, racecourse closures, foal crops in decline: even it is said what happens to the current premier football club in the UK, the dominant Manchester City, holds inherent risks for racing. What, for example, will be the reaction if condign punishment is handed out to the Arab-backed club and the owners lose ‘izzat` as a result: there is concern that such an eventuality could translate into a worst case scenario of withdrawal from racing of its Arab benefactors.

Barzalona judiciously manoeuvred to the outside from the false straight so as not to get caught in traffic in the relatively short straight. Daryz`s turn of foot settled the argument from two hundred metres out. Racehorses don`t know anything about the course of history so it meant nothing to Daryz that no colt had won successive Arcs for decades. But the European classic generation of three-year-olds were exposed as an ordinary vintage. The best of them in the Arc, Diamond Necklace, on what was an uncharacteristic quiet meeting for master trainer Aidan O`Brien (one winner), confirmed (just) Goodwood Gr1 placings with the five-year-old mare Friendly Soul, fourth in the Arc.

But Diamond Necklace had been put in her place at Deauville by Aventure who in the race after the Arc, the Prix de l`Opera (Gr1for Fillies and Mares, finished way down the field.

Daryz provided a marvellous spectacle by his sweeping run on the outside, but if we can`t ignore the time, by the same token we can`t discard the form figures either.

The winner of the Qatar Prix de l`Arc de Triomphe (G1) earns an automatic starting position into the $5 million Longines Breeders` Cup Turf (G1) as do the other five Group One winners on the stellar Longchamp card. But the post-race Press address by the late Aga Khan`s daughter Princess Zahra Aga Khan was resolute regarding Daryz`s future. It is worth recording here the family`s association with the world`s greatest race.

With nine victories, the Aga Khan family extended its own record in the race with Daryz. The colours won in 1948 and 1952 with H.H. Aga Khan III, in 1959 with Ali Khan, son of Aga Khan III, then in 1982, 2000, 2003 and 2008 with H.H. Aga Khan IV, son of Ali Khan. The Aga Khan Studs, led by Princess Zahra Aga Khan have added two further victories to that record in the past two years. It is hardly likely that it is the last to carry the colours to victory or, for that matter, to emerge from the Chantilly stable of France`s outstanding trainer of his generation, Francis-Henri Graffard, with is second triumph.

A sign of the times was that the record-holding winning-trainer in the Arc, Andre Fabre with eight wins, had but two runners at the two-day meeting – nothing in the Arc. Time have moved on.

Last year was a sentimental Arc; emotions were to the fore. The Aga Khan had passed away and Princess Zara Aga Khan was serene as she addressed the post-race question and answer with the international Press, concentrating on Daryz`s future. It was not influenced by the death of two horses at the meeting.

“I was caught up in the moment (last year),” the Princess responded elegantly. “We`re breeders. We take a risks when we run him. He has other things to do now.” The red carpet will be laid out for him at the Haras de Bonneval, The Aga Khan`s stud in Normandy.

This repeat victory, representing triumph for some of the most potent bloodlines in existence, was also appropriate because it was the last Arc confined to horses capable of breeding their successors. In 2027 geldings are allowed, for the first time, into this stallion-making race par excellence, and let`s not ignore one for prospective ‘blue hen` mares to make a statement. I can see next year`s Paris-Turf, the French racing trade newspaper, not always an objector to the historic move (though one at which many antediluvian racing Authorities have expressed regret and fought hard to forestall), to headline something like “Les Animaux Sont Arrive” (the animals have arrived) damning participants who have no future in the sport. For the purists it will be the worst of times.

What can we look forward to? The takeover of Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

One further thing the Arc told us was that the classic generation are lacking a wow factor. While the premature departure from the scene of the unbeaten Guineas hero Bow Echo (Night of Thunder-Aristocratic Lady by Invincible Spirit) seemed to clear the way for a never-ending stream of Classic winning three-year-olds gushing out of Coolmore to take over, that wasn`t the case – not least at the Arc. The challenge to beat Coolmore`s own record of Group Ones in a season petered out in Paris – one late race at the highest level, the Prix de la Foret went to the O`Brien-trained filly True Love (No Nay Never-Alluringly by Fastnet Rock) was rescued on behalf of the Coolmore giants.

For once it wasn`t ‘the best of times` for them.