Wednesday, 22 October 2008: The early editions of the Timeform Racehorses annuals had no essays, so the first ¡®really brilliant filly¡¯ of the post-war era, French-trained Coronation V, had her achievements dealt with only in noteform in Racehorses of 1949.

Top rated Older Horse Duke Of Marmalade Photo by Racing and Sports

The noteform comment described Coronation¡¯s victory as a three-year-old in the Prix de l¡¯Arc de Triomphe as being achieved ¡®in brilliant style by 4 lengths from a very strong field, leaving them all standing with a great final run¡¯. She was rated 135, a Timeform rating bettered only by two fillies in Europe subsequently, the magnificent sprinter Habibti and Allez France, both of whom achieved a rating of 136.

Allez France also won the Prix de l¡¯Arc, at her second attempt after finishing runner-up in the race as a three-year-old. She wasn¡¯t quite at her peak at three but still ended the season with a Timeform rating of 132 after winning the Poule d¡¯Essai des Pouliches, the Prix de Diane and the Prix Vermeille before her clear Arc second to Rheingold.

Zarkava has an even better record as a three-year-old than Allez France who, surprisingly for a filly of her calibre, lost more races than she won at that age (though she beat her great contemporary Dahlia©¤a six-length winner of the King George©¤on all four occasions that they met).

Zarkava was the first filly since Allez France to win the Pouliches, the Diane and the Vermeille and she went one better than Allez France in the Arc, proving herself a filly of the highest class when confidently ridden to cut down the leaders in spectacular style (without coming under the whip), extending her unbeaten sequence to seven.

No three-year-old filly had won the Arc since Akiyda in 1982 (also for Zarkava¡¯s owner-breeder the Aga Khan) after a consistent campaign in which she came second in both the Diane and the Vermeille.
Zarkava was the twelfth of her sex to win the Arc in sixty years, though only the third since Akiyda (the four-year-olds All Along and Urban Sea won in 1983 and 1993).

Very few top fillies are good enough to hold their own against the best colts and the magnificent run of French-trained fillies in the Arc between 1972 and 1983©¤when they won eight out of twelve runnings, including five in a row©¤led some to question at the time whether such a high rate of success could be accounted for by coincidence.

Rumours that some French trainers were giving drugs to healthy racehorses to promote performance were rife©¤fuelled by the much-publicized Trepan dope cases in 1976©¤and hearsay had it that horses were being given transfusions of their own blood before races, an act which it was claimed temporarily improved their performance.

The sensational publicity that surrounded the disqualification of French-trained Trepan, after he failed tests in the Prince of Wales Stakes and the Eclipse, seemed, in truth, to owe much to an anti-French feeling among some in British racing at the time.

The offences in the Trepan cases were technical©¤there was no suggestion of cheating©¤and uncalled-for, wider claims about ¡®horses being doped throughout Chantilly¡¯ were never substantiated.

The most obvious conclusion to be drawn from the run of successes for fillies in the Arc in the ¡¯seventies and ¡¯eighties was that several vintage crops of middle-distance fillies emerged at around that time and some of them coincided with crops of colts that were moderate by comparison with those of most other years.

While the leading French middle-distance fillies of the ¡¯seventies were a distinctly better group than their Anglo-Irish counterparts, the reverse was true of the top colts (the French had nothing to rank with Brigadier Gerard, Mill Reef, Nijinsky, Alleged, Rheingold, Grundy and Troy in that period).

Though there have been plenty of better horses in the history of the turf than Zarkava, there have not been many better fillies in Timeform¡¯s experience, with only Allez France, Habibti, Coronation V, Dahlia, Pebbles, Petite Etoile and All Along rated Zarkava¡¯s superior.

Petite Etoile had a splendid record including an unbeaten six-race campaign at three (featuring the One Thousand Guineas, Oaks, Sussex and Champion). She was barren more often than not at stud but, through her only daughter Zahra, features in the breeding of most of the Aga Khan¡¯s mares whose names begin with the letter ¡®Z¡¯©¤she appears in the fifth generation of Zarkava¡¯s pedigree.

Judged on the style©¤if not exactly the substance©¤of her Arc victory, Zarkava would have been capable of beating the best of the opposite sex without the regulation 3-lb allowance at Longchamp, though the absence of the leading colts in the current classic crop©¤New Approach and Zarkava¡¯s stable-companion Montmartre©¤meant that the latest Arc field wasn¡¯t so strong as it might have been.

Zarkava may be a brilliant racemare but she has her quirks, and after trailing the field for a long way when completely missing the break in the Vermeille, she ducked right leaving the stalls in the Arc, her antics again leaving her with plenty to do in the later stages of a race that was not run at its usual breakneck pace.

The Arc meeting was an unusually disappointing one in general for the Ballydoyle stable (Soldier of Fortune improved two places on his Arc effort the previous year but Duke of Marmalade seemed to find that race one too many, managing only seventh).

Ballydoyle¡¯s leading three-year-old Henrythenavigator has slipped to joint-third in the rankings for his age group, behind Zarkava amd Raven¡¯s Pass.

Raven¡¯s Pass has gradually been getting closer to Henrythenavigator and he finally beat him©¤fairly and squarely©¤when they met for the fourth time in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot the weekend before the Arc.

The admirable Paco Boy moved closer to the top three-year-olds with an authoritative win over the One Thousand Guineas winner Natagora and the untrustworthy US Ranger in the Prix de la Foret, while Conduit did the same when recording the best St Leger win of recent years (giving trainer Sir Michael Stoute an overdue first win in the oldest classic).



Top Three Year Olds in Europe

133 Zarkava (Ire)
132 Raven¡¯s Pass (USA)
131 Henrythenavigator (USA)
131 New Approach (Ire)
130 Tartan Bearer (Ire)
129 Paco Boy (Ire)
128 Montmartre (Fr)
127 Conduit (Ire)
127 Vision d¡¯Etat (Fr)
126 Tamayuz
125 Lady Marian (Ger)
124 Kamsin (Ger)
124 Kingsgate Native (Ire)
123p Aqlaam
123p Overdose
123 Goldikova (Ire)
123 Look Here
122 Cima de Triomphe (Ire)
122 Falco (USA)
122 Fleeting Spirit (Ire)
122 Lush Lashes
122 Twice Over
121p Kalahari Gold
121 Equiano (Fr)
121 Famous Name
120 Corrybrough
120 Prospect Wells (Fr)
120 Unsung Heroine (Ire)
119 African Rose
119 Alessandro Volta
119 Ancien Regime
119 Campanologist (USA)
119 Casual Conquest (Ire)
119 Dar Re Mi
119 Moonstone
119 Nahoodh (Ire)
119 Russian Cross (Fr)
119 Sub Rose (ire)

Top Older Horses In Europe

132 Duke of Marmalade (Ire)
131¡ì Papal Bull
131 Youmzain (Ire)
130 Septimus (Ire)
130 Soldier of Fortune (Ire)
129 It¡¯s Gino (Ger)
128 Yeats (Ire)
127 Archipenko (USA)
127 Getaway (Ger)
127 Marchand d¡¯Or (Fr)
126 Ask 126 Creachadoir (Ire)
126 Eagle Mountain
126 Jay Peg (SAF)
126 Mount Nelson
126 Phoenix Tower (USA)
126 Ramonti (Fr)
125 Borderlescott
125 Haradasun (Aus)
125 MacArthur
125 Sun Classique (Aus)
124 Bankable (Ire)
124 Cesare
124 Linngari (Ire)
124 Saddex
124¡ì US Ranger (USA)
123 Adlerflug (Ger)
123 Doctor Dino (Fr)
123 Pipedreamer
123 Sageburg (Ire)
123 Tariq
123 Traffic Guard (USA)

Top Two Year Olds in Europe

120 Mastercraftsman (Ire)
119p Rainbow View (USA)
119 Bushranger (Ire)
119 Shaweel
117 Art Connoisseur (Ire)
116p Square Eddie (Can)
116 Ashram (Ire)
116 Soul City (Ire)
115 Arazan (ire)
115p Proportional
115 Jukebox Jury
115 Sayif (Ire)
114p Naaqoos
114 Gallagher


Top Three Year Olds In North America

132 Big Brown
123 Music Note
123 Proud Spell
122 Georgie Boy
122 Zaftig
121 Colonel John
121 Mambo In Seattle
120 Da¡¯Tara
120 Eight Belles
120 Indian Blessing
119 Denis of Cork
119 Gayego

Top Older Horses In North America

134 Curlin
126 Kip Deville
126 Commentator
126 Zenyatta
125 Cost of Freedom
124 Grand Couturier
124 Red Rocks
124 Street Boss
123 Cocoa Beach
123 In Summation
123 Well Armed
122 Benny The Bull
122 Better Talk Now
122 Daytona
122 Divine Park
122 Ginger Punch
122 Heatseeker
122 Intangaroo
122 Wanderin Boy
121 Abraaj
121 Go Between
121 Greg¡¯s Gold
121 Lewis Michael
121 Marsh Side
121 Mast Track
121 Nashoba¡¯s Key
121 Sudan
121 Tiago
120+ Forever Together
120 Einstein
120 First Defence
120 Monterey Jazz
120 Past The Point
120 Rahy¡¯s Attorney
120 Spring At Last
120 Student Council
120 Surf Cat

The Timeform Rating is the merit of a horse expressed in pounds and is arrived at by careful examination of the horse¡¯s performances against those of others. The ratings range from 130+ for top-class performers down to around 20 for the poorest. Symbols attached to the ratings: ¡®p¡¯¨Clikely to improve¡¯ ¡®P¡¯¨Ccapable of much better form; ¡®+¡¯¨Cthe horse may be better than we have been able to rate it; ¡®?¡¯¨Cthe rating is suspect.

Top Three Year Olds in Europe 133    Zarkava (Ire) 132    Raven¡¯s Pass (USA) 131    Henrythenavigator (USA) 131    New Approach (Ire) 130    Tartan Bearer (Ire) 129    Paco Boy (Ire) 128    Montmartre (Fr) 127    Conduit (Ire) 127    Vision d¡¯Etat (Fr) 126    Tamayuz 125    Lady Marian (Ger) 124    Kamsin (Ger) 124    Kingsgate Native (Ire) 123p  Aqlaam 123p  Overdose 123    Goldikova (Ire) 123    Look Here 122    Cima de Triomphe (Ire) 122    Falco (USA) 122    Fleeting Spirit (Ire) 122    Lush Lashes 122    Twice Over 121p  Kalahari Gold 121    Equiano (Fr) 121    Famous Name 120    Corrybrough 120    Prospect Wells (Fr) 120    Unsung Heroine (Ire) 119    African Rose 119    Alessandro Volta 119    Ancien Regime 119    Campanologist (USA) 119    Casual Conquest (Ire) 119    Dar Re Mi 119    Moonstone 119    Nahoodh (Ire) 119    Russian Cross (Fr) 119    Sub Rose (ire)   Top Older Horses In Europe 132    Duke of Marmalade (Ire) 131¡ì  Papal Bull 131    Youmzain (Ire) 130    Septimus (Ire) 130    Soldier of Fortune (Ire) 129    It¡¯s Gino (Ger) 128    Yeats (Ire) 127    Archipenko (USA) 127    Getaway (Ger) 127    Marchand d¡¯Or (Fr) 126    Ask 126    Creachadoir (Ire) 126    Eagle Mountain 126    Jay Peg  (SAF) 126    Mount Nelson 126    Phoenix Tower (USA) 126    Ramonti (Fr) 125    Borderlescott 125    Haradasun (Aus) 125    MacArthur 125    Sun Classique (Aus) 124    Bankable (Ire) 124    Cesare 124    Linngari (Ire) 124    Saddex 124¡ì  US Ranger (USA) 123    Adlerflug (Ger) 123    Doctor Dino (Fr) 123    Pipedreamer 123    Sageburg (Ire) 123    Tariq 123    Traffic Guard (USA) Top Two Year Olds in Europe 120    Mastercraftsman (Ire) 119p  Rainbow View (USA) 119    Bushranger (Ire) 119    Shaweel 117    Art Connoisseur (Ire) 116p  Square Eddie (Can) 116    Ashram (Ire) 116    Soul City (Ire) 115    Arazan (ire) 115p  Proportional 115    Jukebox Jury 115    Sayif (Ire) 114p  Naaqoos 114    Gallagher   Top Three Year Olds In North America 132    Big Brown 123    Music Note 123    Proud Spell 122    Georgie Boy 122    Zaftig 121    Colonel John 121    Mambo In Seattle 120    Da¡¯Tara 120    Eight Belles  120    Indian Blessing  119    Denis of Cork 119    Gayego   Top Older Horses In North America 134    Curlin 126    Kip Deville 126    Commentator 126    Zenyatta 125    Cost of Freedom 124    Grand Couturier 124    Red Rocks 124    Street Boss 123    Cocoa Beach 123    In Summation 123    Well Armed 122    Benny The Bull 122    Better Talk Now 122    Daytona 122    Divine Park 122    Ginger Punch 122    Heatseeker  122    Intangaroo 122    Wanderin Boy 121    Abraaj 121    Go Between 121    Greg¡¯s Gold 121    Lewis Michael 121    Marsh Side 121    Mast Track 121    Nashoba¡¯s Key 121    Sudan 121    Tiago 120+  Forever Together 120    Einstein 120    First Defence 120    Monterey Jazz 120    Past The Point 120    Rahy¡¯s Attorney 120    Spring At Last 120    Student Council 120    Surf Cat The Timeform Rating is the merit of a horse expressed in pounds and is arrived at by careful examination of the horse¡¯s performances against those of others. The ratings range from 130+ for top-class performers down to around 20 for the poorest. Symbols attached to the ratings: ¡®p¡¯¨Clikely to improve¡¯ ¡®P¡¯¨Ccapable of much better form; ¡®+¡¯¨Cthe horse may be better than we have been able to rate it; ¡®?¡¯¨Cthe rating is suspect.