Zarkava’s retirement is a no-brainer, isn’t it?
But there are times when it has the capacity to get up your goat. Tuesday was certainly one of those days, as they attempted to make the case for keeping the quite brilliant Zarkava in training.
The battle was led by James Willoughby who rambled and rambled, before finally reaching his destination, which was that Zarkava should “race on.”
Willoughty is probably the nicest fellow in the world and often well capable of making massive sense.
Perhaps, when heading down a road like this, he is only doing what the editor has told him to do. So, let’s give the man the benefit of the doubt and move on.
The simple facts are that Zarkava has never been beaten in seven races, five of them Group 1’s.
What really drives one daft on occasions with the Post, At The Races are blue in the face from it as well, is the tendency to allow bookmakers’ representatives free rein to spew out any old rubbish, which is frequently an insult to the intelligence of readers.
They were at it again with the Zarkava story, giving VCbet’s Neal Wilkins the floor. VCbet, brave boys, are offering 2-1 Zarkava for next year’s ‘Arc, should she stay in training.
This is what Wilkins said: “If she stays in training, our 2-1 is sure to come under pressure.”
Neal, seriously, get a life. Only a lunatic would take such a paltry offer about a filly for a race which is a year away.
The front-page story told us that if Zarkava is retired: “it will come as a body blow to the sport, given her superstar status.”
Balderdash. The retirement of Zarkava will not make a whit of difference to the game.
Trainer, Alain de Royer-Dupre, who would surely love to have her again next season, made the most sense. “There is not much left for her to do”, he said.
Despite her record, Zarkava still had plenty to prove heading into the Arc. But, when she crossed the line, two lengths ahead of Youmzain, there was no more to be said.
She had slammed the older horses and slammed the colts and had shown herself to be one of the greats.
If she stays in training, it will be an extraordinarily sporting decision. But such a decision will mean she has little or nothing to gain and everything to lose. It’s a no-brainer, you’d have thought!
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HALFWAY To Heaven’s success in Saturday’s Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket must have given Aidan O’Brien enormous pleasure.
She has been on the go since finishing second behind Carribean Sunset at Leopardstown way back on April 6 and here she was six months later putting up, arguably, the best performance of her life.
And it wasn’t as if she had been given an easy time in between. Halfway To Heaven didn’t miss a beat.
She was third to Lush Lashes in the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown, got first run on Lush Lashes when beating her in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, won the Irish 1000 Guineas at the Curragh and was third to Zarkava in the French 1000 Guineas at Longchamp.
By the time Newmarket was reached, Halfway To Heaven was entitled to be crying enough, but not a bit of it and out she popped to make all the running.
And while on the subject of O’Brien, anyone else puzzled by his juvenile, Freemantle? He made his debut at the Curragh in July, running a race rich in promise when fourth behind Driving Snow.
Second was another Ballydoyle inmate, Black Bear Island, who reappeared to win in a canter at Naas.
In fourth was Sea The Stars, since succcessful in a maiden at Leopardstown and then in the Group 2 Beresford Stakes at the Curragh.
Freemantle was then absent until reappearing in another Curragh maiden in September and looked a certainty, on all known form.
But he proved desperately easy-to-back and proceeded to trail in a well-beaten fourth behind Nafaath, Lamzena Lady, beaten again since, and moderate stable companion, Four Star General, also beaten since.
The obvious conclusion, unless you knew better, was that he simply didn’t handle the very testing ground.
Onto Tipperary on Sunday and Freemantle ran again, this time in conditions which were probably even worse than the Curragh.
But he had plenty of friends in the market now and glided across the suface to pulverise Dermot Weld’s strongly-fancied Signal Fire by ten lengths.
