Zarkava (foaled 31 March 2005 in Ireland) is an undefeated French
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
racehorse
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
who won the 2008
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe () is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris over a distance ...
.
Background
Bred and raced by
HH Aga Khan IV, Zarkava was sired by
Group II winner Zamindar who also sired the multiple
Group One
Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...
winner,
Darjina. Out of the mare, Zarkasha, her damsire is
Kahyasi
Kahyasi (2 April 1985 – 12 June 2008) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He won the first five races of his seven-race career, including the Epsom Derby and the Irish Derby as a three-year-old in 1988.
Background
Kahya ...
, winner of the 1988
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...
and
Irish Derby
The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a dista ...
s.
Racing career
Zarkava made two starts as a two-year-old at
Longchamp Racecourse
The Longchamp Racecourse (, ) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for ...
, her home base in Paris for trainer
Alain de Royer-Dupré
Alain de Royer-Dupré (born 24 September 1944http://www.breederscup.com/bio.aspx?id=2334 Breeders' Cup trainer profile) is a retired French thoroughbred racehorse trainer.
Early life
He grew up at the Haras de Saint Lô, a national stud farm in ...
. She won the Prix de la Cascade for maiden fillies, and the
Group One
Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...
Prix Marcel Boussac
The Prix Marcel Boussac is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is s ...
. She was ridden by
Christophe Soumillon
Christophe Soumillon (born 4 June 1981) is a Belgian jockey based in France.
Career
Coming from a racing background, Soumillon is the son of jump jockey Jean-Marc Soumillon. He rode in pony races and left Belgium aged fifteen to go to the racin ...
, who rode her in all her races.
In 2008, she made her three-year-old debut in April at Longchamp with a win in the Group 3
Prix de la Grotte
The Prix de la Grotte is a Group 3 flat horse race open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies in France. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at Longchamp i ...
. She followed that with a win in the
Poule d'Essai des Pouliches
The Poule d'Essai des Pouliches is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) ...
, setting a new stakes record. She then won the
Prix de Diane
The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks, is one of the most important and prestigious Group 1 horse races in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at C ...
at
Chantilly Racecourse
Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred grass, turf race track, racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris.
Chantilly Racecourse is located in the ...
in June.
Back at Longchamp in September, she raced in the 2,400 metre
Prix Vermeille
The Prix Vermeille is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles) ...
. After stumbling out of the starting gate and losing at least a dozen lengths to the leaders, she went from last to first and won by two lengths while equaling the stakes record.
She made her next start in the
2008 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
The 2008 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was a horse race held at Longchamp on Sunday 5 October 2008. It was the 87th running of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
The winner was Zarkava, a three-year-old filly trained in France by Alain de Royer-Dupré ...
on October 5. Even though it was her first race against
colts and many questioned her ability to win after her tardy start in the Prix Vermeille, Zarkava was the
betting
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...
favorite leading up to the Arc, and made a powerful stretch drive to become the first filly in fifteen years to win the race.
Zarkava was retired on October 13 with an undefeated record.
On November 17 she was named
Cartier Horse of the Year
The Cartier Horse of the Year is an award in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier SA as part of the Cartier Racing Awards. The award winner is decided by points earned in group races plus the votes cast by British racin ...
. The Aga Khan noted in a video interview posted on the website of ''
the Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' that they had been working since the Prix Vermeille to get this quirky filly to leave from a state of relaxation in the gate and run in a more relaxed mode at the start of her races instead of getting all tied up. He also said Zarkava had matured at three and did not get into her pace as quickly as she did at two. The Aga Khan called her an exceptional racehorse in a year of exceptional horses; and that her quality was identified very early, resulting in being placed in Group 1 races after her maiden win. In the interview, he also stated that his daughter, Princess Zahra, was deeply involved in the breeding of Zarkava, as well as the Aga Khan's other horses. The Aga Khan has been quoted in story after story as saying that Zarkava represents the apogee of the more than ninety years that his family had been breeding champion Thoroughbred racehorses.
Breeding career
The first foal for Zarkava was a filly by
Dalakhani foaled on 6 February 2010 at Gilltown Stud in Kilcullen, Ireland who was subsequently named Zerkaza.
On 11 February 2011 she produced a bay colt by 2009
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...
,
2000 Guineas
The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...
and
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe () is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris over a distance ...
winner,
European Champion 3-year-old and
No.1 World Ranked Racehorse Sea the Stars
Sea The Stars (foaled 6 April 2006) is a retired champion Irish Thoroughbred racehorse regarded as one of the greatest racehorses of all time. He won the 2000 Guineas, the Derby, the Eclipse Stakes – the first colt to accomplish this treble ...
at the Aga Khan's Haras de Bonneval stud in Normandy, France. The colt, named Zarkash, was described as "a strong colt who looks like his sire and is very correct.", and was priced at 50–1 to win the
2014 Epsom Derby after his birth, but never made it onto a racecourse.
2010 Zerkaza (IRE) - a filly by Dalakhani (IRE) foaled on February 6. She is unraced, but has foaled a Exceed and Excel filly called Zerenda who is unraced, and a Sea the Stars (IRE) colt called Zeyrek who has won two of four starts.
2011 Zarkash (FR), a bay colt by Sea The Stars (IRE) foaled February 11. He is unraced and was trained by
Alain de Royer-Dupré
Alain de Royer-Dupré (born 24 September 1944http://www.breederscup.com/bio.aspx?id=2334 Breeders' Cup trainer profile) is a retired French thoroughbred racehorse trainer.
Early life
He grew up at the Haras de Saint Lô, a national stud farm in ...
at Chantilly but broke a leg during training on 22 October 2014 and had to be euthanized.
2012 Zarkar, a colt by Galileo (IRE) He is unraced and stood at stud in Argentina for a year before being euthanized on 4 May 2017 after fracturing a tibia in a paddock accident
2013 Zarak (FR), a colt by Dubawi (IRE) foaled March 1. He raced from 2015–2017 and retired in 2018. He had 4 wins in 13 starts. He had one Grade 1 win and one Grade 3 win, two Grade 1 second places and one Grade 2 second place, one Grade 2 third place, two Grade 1 fourth places, two Grade 1 fifth places, and one Grade 1 tenth place finish in his final race.
2014 Zarmitan (FR), a bay colt by Redoute's Choice (AUS) foaled March 10. He was expected to debut at St Cloud in June 2017.
2015 Zarkamiya (FR), a filly by Frankel (IRE). She won her debut on April 19, 2018 at Longchamp
2016 Zarkallani (FR), a colt by Invincible Spirit (IRE)
2017 Zaykava (FR), a bay filly by Siyouni (FR) foaled March 21
2018 Zaskar, colt by Sea The Stars (IRE) foaled in March. He is unraced
2019, filly by Dubawi (IRE)
Honours
As of November 2008, Zarkava was ranked #2 racehorse in the world by the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities (www.IFHAonline.org) and #1 in the world by RaceHorseOwner.com.
Timeform
Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by th ...
announced that they rated Zarkava at 133 after the Arc, making her the joint-best filly or mare in the last 20 years and joint-seventh in the last 40 years. This was significantly higher than the official rating, but Phil Smith, the senior British Horseracing Authority handicapper, explained that it was like comparing
apples and oranges
A comparison of apples and oranges occurs when two items or groups of items are compared that cannot be practically compared, typically because of inherent or fundamental differences between the objects.
The idiom, ''comparing apples and oran ...
.
"We look at the facts and make our assessment in an historical context", he said. "We're not trying to speculate. We think Zarkava is exceptionally good, and we think our figure reflects that. We're also constantly updating our list of the 50 top horses, and she is joint-second (with Duke Of Marmalade) on 127, only 3lb behind the top-rated,
Curlin
Curlin (foaled March 25, 2004, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the American Horse of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. He retired in 2008 as the highest North American money earner with over US$10.5 ...
. Many forget she was receiving a 3lb sex allowance, which if applied to our list, would bring her out as the same horse as Curlin
s the #1 rated horse in the world
Zarkava won the horseraceinsider.com prize, Most Under-Appreciated Significant Victory of 2008 Insider Award, for her defeat of older males in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Zarkava was named
European Horse of the Year
The Cartier Racing Awards are awards in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier SA, Cartier. The award winners are decided by points earned in group races (40%) plus the votes cast by British racing journalists (30%) and re ...
at the 2008
Cartier Racing Awards
The Cartier Racing Awards are awards in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier. The award winners are decided by points earned in group races (40%) plus the votes cast by British racing journalists (30%) and readers of th ...
.
Pedigree
See also
*
List of leading Thoroughbred racehorses
References
External links
Zarkava's official pedigreeVideo at YouTube of Zarkava's win in the Prix Vermeille(French language)
Video at YouTube of Zarkava's win 2008 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
*Daily Telegraph
{{Cartier Champion Three-year-old Filly
2005 racehorse births
Arc winners
Cartier Award winners
European Thoroughbred Horse of the Year
Racehorses bred in Ireland
Racehorses trained in France
Undefeated racehorses
Thoroughbred family 9-c