It was not all smooth sailing for the 13-8 favorite, however. A smattering of
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When Red Rock Canyon completed his job and weakened in the stretch, It’s Gino
(Perugino) and Soldier of Fortune struck the front. Just behind them was a wall
of horses, Zarkava among them, trying to work their way forward. For an instant,
it looked as if she may not find a seam, but suddenly the whole course opened up
before her. Producing her hallmark turn of foot, Zarkava immediately stormed
clear of the battling duo and crossed the wire a decisive two-length winner. The
bay sophomore completed about 1 1/2 miles on the good-to-soft ground in 2:28
4/5, becoming the first female to take the Arc since the four-year-old Urban Sea
in 1993.
“Today we have seen the confirmation that she is really out of the ordinary,”
de Royer-Dupre marveled. “She has a very fluid way of moving and an ease of
acceleration in just a couple of strides which is incredible. I have never seen
her in difficulty. I am very lucky to train such a great filly.”
“She gave me the same extraordinary sensation that I had with Dalakhani (winner of the 2003 Arc),
the only one that would have been able to challenge her for victory today,” Soumillon
said. “They are the two horses of my life. They will be engraved in everyone’s
memory forever, and especially in mine. I always said that I thought I would win
the Arc with her, but we needed a good run of the race, which is never
guaranteed. We got a passage through the field at a crucial moment in the race
when there was a lot of movement.
“She’s a real jewel, a filly with such class that we are unlikely to see the
same quality for 25 or 30 years,” her rider concluded.
“Today is the apogee for a breeding operation which dates back 90 years
and for five generations of my family,” summed up the Aga
Khan, who also bred and campaigned Dalakhani. “I am really amazed by my
filly.”
Last year’s Arc runner-up Youmzain (Sinndar), who had been buried on the
rail, finally broke free and finished with a flourish to take second place once
again.
“It didn’t cost him the race,” Bruce Raymond, racing manager to Youmzain’s owner Jaber Abdullah,
admitted to PA Sport. “The winner is an exceptional filly.”
Another half-length back came the inseparable pair of It’s Gino and Soldier
of Fortune in a dead-heat for third. The previously unbeaten colt Vision d’Etat
(Chicicastengago) reported home fifth, followed by Ask (GB) (Sadler’s Wells),
Duke of Marmalade, Getaway (Monsun), Cima de Triomphe (Galileo [Ire]), Japanese
shipper Meisho Samson (Opera House [GB]), Papal Bull (Montjeu [Ire]), Blue
Bresil (Smadoun), Schiaparelli (Monsun), Zambezi Sun (Dansili [GB]), Kamsin (Samum)
and Red Rock Canyon.
O’Brien was not making any hasty decisions about Soldier of Fortune and Duke
of Marmalade.
“I’m not using the ground as an excuse. They’ve both run good races,” he
said. “They both have plenty of options, and we’ll see what happens.”
Zarkava first burst onto the scene on Arc Day last year, when she captured
the Prix Marcel Boussac (Fr-G1) and thereby ranked as France’s highweight
juvenile filly. On Sunday, her Arc success put her seal on a brilliant
three-year-old campaign. After an easy reappearance in the Prix de la Grotte
(Fr-G3), she commenced her march through the French fillies’ classics, coasting
to impressive victories in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French One Thousand
Guineas) (Fr-G1) and Prix de Diane (Fr-G1). She enjoyed the traditional summer
break and returned to prep for the Arc with a scintillating score in the Prix
Vermeille (Fr-G1).
Bred in Ireland, Zarkava was produced by the unraced Zarkasha (Kahyasi), and
she has an unraced juvenile half-sister named Zerkeriya (Soviet Star). Zarkasha
is herself a half-sister to French Group 3 heroine Zarkiya (Ire) (Catrail). This
is the family of Zainta (Kahyasi), victress of the 1998 Prix de Diane and Prix
Saint-Alary (Fr-G1). Zarkava’s fifth dam is the immortal Petite Etoile
(Petition), winner of the 1959 English One Thousand Guineas, Oaks and Champion
S., and a two-time heroine of the Coronation Cup in 1960-61.
The Aga Khan has not yet determined whether Zarkava will remain in training
next season, or be retired.
“The decision about her future has not been taken yet,” His Highness said.
“She won’t race again this year, and I will discuss next year with my team.”