Assessors split over Zarkava
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.
Dahlia, Pebbles (both 135) and Petite Etoile and All Along (134) have also posted top class efforts. And the weekend win is seen as seven pounds better than that of the last filly to win the wArc, Urban Sea in 1993.
However the BHA’s senior handicapper Phil Smith has her on 127, the best rating for a three-year-old filly since Bosra Sham in 1996 (131).
Timeform spokesman Simon Walker commented: “Provisionally, we have her on 133.
“Zarkava’s basic rating for winning the Arc was 131 but she has been credited with an extra 2lb for the style of her success and the fact that she didn’t have an entirely trouble-free passage.
“She’s undoubtedly one of the best fillies in recent memory and, still unbeaten, has the potential to be the best if she’s given the chance to continue racing against colts.”
