Assessors split over Zarkava

TIMEFORM and the official handicapper are at odds over the merit of Zarkava’s victory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Sunday.

The former have put a lofty provisional rating of 133 on the Aga Khan’s star, and that makes her the joint best filly/mare in the past 20 years. And they believe that she has the ability to become the best.

Allez France (1974) and Habibti (1983) have recorded the best female performances in the past 40 years, posting a rating of 136, and Sunday’s comfortable two length defeat of Youmzain sees Zarkava ranked alongside more recent greats such as Miesque and Indian Skimmer.