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INTERNATIONAL DIARY OCTOBER 14, 2008 by Kellie Reilly It is said that massive Category 5 hurricanes create their own environments, their dynamic momentum making them less subject to the atmospheric conditions that would rule over lesser storms. A phenomenon very much like this was on display in the October 5 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1), when the unbeaten filly ZARKAVA (Zamindar), buried in traffic with no apparent way out in midstretch, suddenly exerted her force field, and the course lay open before her. Trapped one second, covered in glory the next: that sums up Zarkava's magnificent Arc victory, but it does not do it justice. First, this was an accomplished Arc field that the three-year-old filly conquered. Her triumph did not come cheaply by defeating a subpar cast. The top older horses were all there -- Aidan O'Brien's DUKE OF MARMALADE (Danehill) and SOLDIER OF FORTUNE (Galileo [Ire]), the classy but frustrating pair of YOUMZAIN (Sinndar) and PAPAL BULL (Montjeu [Ire]), Andre Fabre's GETAWAY (Monsun), and Japanese flagbearer MEISHO SAMSON (Opera House [GB]) among them. The same could not be said of the leading three-year-old colts, who were absent for one reason or another, but the division was still represented by the hitherto undefeated VISION D'ETAT (Chichicastenango) and the smart German colt KAMSIN (Samum). Second, Zarkava suffered a potentially lethal blow when drawing post 1. The last time an Arc winner broke from that stall was 1964, according to Racing Post. (The winner was *Prince Royal II, for those keeping score at home.) So now she had a 44-year burden strapped to her back, on top of the 26-year trend against sophomore fillies in the Arc. Third, the weather was a complicating factor. While the heaviest rain skirted Longchamp, the course still absorbed some moisture, making it a touch softer than the day before. It turned out to be no hindrance at all, but it was yet another disconcerting variable. Fourth, Zarkava broke alertly, but not straight, and regular rider Christophe Soumillon did well to stay in the irons and regroup. Fifth, when Zarkava was surrounded by opponents and short of room, she was buffeted, as happens in a clump of horses all gathering momentum for the drive. Had she lost, she would have had an array of legitimate excuses. But she won, despite it all, and decisively at that. Only the truly great performer is capable of such alchemy, transforming ordinary tribulations into an extraordinary success. While Zarkava's past exploits had intimated that she was of this quality, it remained to be proven in the highest company. I had mentioned this in my last diary, perhaps a bit gun shy after being shot down along with other presumptive wonder horses who failed over the years. But in about two electric strides, Zarkava steamrolled my hesitant question mark into a big, bold exclamation point. As soon as she assertively made her own room, Zarkava mowed down the battling pair of Soldier of Fortune and 150-1 longshot IT'S GINO (Perugino), and the Arc was over. Two lengths behind her came Youmzain, who was unlucky in that he had to steady off heels and come around Soldier of Fortune just as Zarkava was zooming by. Youmzain finished with a flourish to overhaul the dead-heating Soldier of Fortune and It's Gino, and it's tempting to wonder what might have happened if he had gotten clear sooner. Zarkava would certainly have won, but Youmzain would have been closer. Youmzain was runner-up for the second straight year, having missed by a head to Dylan Thomas (Ire) in 2007. That little form nugget helps to put Zarkava's achievement into perspective. Youmzain's connections believe that he is better than he was a year ago, underscoring that Zarkava's Arc triumph is greater than Dylan Thomas' hang-on-for-dear-life win of 2007. Indeed, hers is likely the strongest Arc performance since her fellow Aga Khan homebred Dalakhani won in 2003. Soumillon, who rode both Dalakhani and Zarkava, has classed them together as "the two horses of my life," and he went on to suggest that the pair should be bred. He will get his wish, for the Aga Khan has retired his star filly, who will begin her new career by visiting the court of Dalakhani. Soumillon may already be looking forward to the summer of 2012, when the Dalakhani-Zarkava offspring will be a juvenile nearing a racecourse debut. Although I usually come down on the side of prolonging racing careers, and against premature retirement, I agree with the Aga Khan's decision, chiefly because in her case, it is not premature. Zarkava, now seven-for-seven, has earned her way into the Pantheon, beyond any doubt, question, or cavil. She had achieved all there was to achieve in France, and while it would have been terrific to see her embark on international ventures at four, testing her acceleration at Ascot, or Dubai, or Japan, or Hong Kong, or even here in the United States, there's no guarantee that she would have trained on next year. She might have enhanced an already superior reputation, but given the number of things that can go wrong, she might not have. And if she was not quite herself as a four-year-old, it would have been pitiable to see her as an exemplar of how the mighty have fallen. Rather, let her go out in her blaze of glory, at the peak of her powers, her perfection forever emblazoned on her escutcheon, with no stain of defeat. Rightly has the Aga Khan described her as the "apogee" of his family's breeding operation, 90 years in the making. Her dam Zarkasha; broodmare sire Kahyasi; second dam Zarkana; second damsire Doyoun; third dam Zarna; third damsire Shernazar; fourth dam Zahra; and fifth dam, the all-time great Petite Etoile, are Aga Khan products, going right back through to her ninth dam, the legendary "Flying Filly," Mumtaz Mahal. A timeless filly deserves a timeless tribute, and so we consult the ancient Greek poet Pindar, whose odes* celebrated the heroes of the Olympics and other great games of Hellas. An aristocrat to his core, Pindar would have appreciated Zarkava, for he speaks in "strong praise of storm-footed horses," bestows the "choicest honor for his horses whose hooves never weary," and marvels at the "beauty" of a horse who "loaded our hearts with the sweetest thoughts...giving his strength in the course, not waiting for the spur, and brought to triumph his master." In all of the post-Arc euphoria, however, I have not heard so much as a squeak about another Aga Khan three-year-old, who was simply sublime over the course-and-distance on Bastille Day, and who was all the rage for the Arc until he was sidelined by injury. I speak of MONTMARTRE (Montjeu [Ire]), who had thrashed the Epsom (Eng-G1) and Irish Derby (Ire-G1) form to pieces in the Grand Prix de Paris (Fr-G1), the only other performance commensurate with Zarkava's this season in France. Let's spare a thought for the gray colt back home in his box on that gray Arc Day. He just may have been the only one who could have matched strides with the otherwise peerless Zarkava at Longchamp. In terms of the Arc's impact on the Breeders' Cup, only Soldier of Fortune and Duke of Marmalade are bound for Santa Anita. Soldier of Fortune is aiming for the Turf (G1), while "The Duke" is under consideration for the Turf or the Classic (G1). "The Soldier" ran a commendable race in the Arc, tracking the generous pace dictated by his Ballydoyle rabbit, striking the front along with It's Gino in the stretch, and surrendering only to those with a sharper turn of foot. Considering that he had not raced since late June, he is eligible to move forward off this effort, in a pattern reminiscent of High Chaparral's (Ire) 2002 Turf victory for O'Brien. On the other hand, The Soldier loves turf with give in it, and it's anyone's guess if he'll stride out as strongly on the ultra-firm ground of Southern California. His tendency to be one-paced, lacking a serious change of gear, may also work against him in the Breeders' Cup. The Duke is better suited to American racing conditions, but he is now at the end-game of a taxing season. In the Arc, it was clear a few furlongs from home that his hopes were finished. He was uncharacteristically being scrubbed along by Johnny Murtagh, and he simply never picked up. That telling surge of power that we've seen at Ascot, and Newmarket, was just not there, but he kept plugging away to finish a decent seventh, beaten a total of four lengths. Murtagh and O'Brien insisted that the ground was not to blame. Might his first loss of the year be a sign that The Duke is feeling the effects of his campaign? Perhaps, but some horses just don't run their races in the Arc, for whatever reason. I'm hoping, rather than blithely confident, that we'll see The Duke at his best in the Breeders' Cup. Ironically, it's an ex-O'Brien pupil who promises to meet both prerequisites of loving firm turf and being fresh for the Breeders' Cup: EAGLE MOUNTAIN (Rock of Gibraltar [Ire]). Returning from a nearly year-long layoff for new trainer Mike de Kock, the four-year-old won the October 3 Joel S. (Eng-G3) in course-record time at Newmarket. Eagle Mountain was under pressure a long way out in the mile contest, which is too short for him, but caught fire on the rising ground late to snatch victory by a head in a three-way photo. The form looks reasonably solid, since the runner-up, BANKABLE (Medicean), had been second to RAVEN'S PASS (Elusive Quality) in his most recent attempt at a mile. When with O'Brien last season, Eagle Mountain ranked as Ireland's highweight sophomore at 9 1/2 to 11 furlongs. A distant runner-up to Authorized in the Epsom Derby, and a remote third to Soldier of Fortune on bottomless ground in the Irish Derby, he captured the Royal Whip S. (Ire-G2) and wrapped up his year with a near-miss second in the Champion S. (Eng-G1), beating DOCTOR DINO (Fr) (Muhtathir [GB]). Eagle Mountain was subsequently sold to Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum and transferred to de Kock, who had Dubai Carnival ambitions for him. Unfortunately, he fractured his pelvis and was sidelined. That may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, if he can upstage the Ballydoyle brigade in the Breeders' Cup. If this story line sounds vaguely familiar, we saw it play out in this summer's Arlington Million (G1), where ARCHIPENKO (Kingmambo), formerly trained by O'Brien but now with de Kock, defeated O'Brien's MOUNT NELSON (GB) (Rock of Gibraltar [Ire]) for runner-up honors. For whatever it's worth, Eagle Mountain had a much better resume than Archipenko did at the time of purchase, so I have an inkling that de Kock might just be able to pull off the coup at Santa Anita. Arc weekend also yielded contenders for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1). In a terrific edition of the Prix de l'Opera (Fr-G1) on the Arc undercard, the German-based LADY MARIAN (Nayef) looked as if she'd been shot out of a cannon in the final furlong, as she stormed past a banged-up LUSH LASHES (GB) (Galileo [Ire]) to win going away by 1 1/2 lengths. Although she was a 16-1 outsider, Lady Marian is no fluke, and she has been on the march ever since a German Group 3 score in early July. A trifle unlucky not to capture the Preis der Diana (German Oaks) (Ger-G1), she invaded Deauville and took home the Prix de la Nonette (Fr-G3) in her start prior to the Opera. I'm a little concerned about how she might handle the turns at Santa Anita, since she reportedly looked uncomfortable with the turns at Dusseldorf, but her ability is unquestionable. Her Opera was a seriously good effort. Lush Lashes sustained a gash on her leg when leaving the gate, and trainer Jim Bolger believes that she must have been in some discomfort throughout the race. That makes her performance all the more meritorious. Rallying from off the pace, she showed real guts to come through the slimmest of openings on the rail, and for a moment looked to be home free until Lady Marian appeared on the scene. Lush Lashes has been ruled out of the Breeders' Cup, and Bolger hopes to have her ready for the Hong Kong extravaganza on December 14. In the October 4 Sun Chariot S. (Eng-G1) at Newmarket, the O'Brien-trained HALFWAY TO HEAVEN (Pivotal) went straight to the early lead and repelled a prolonged challenge from the older DARJINA (Zamindar) to bag her third top-level victory of the season. Halfway to Heaven has raced mostly at the mile distance of the Sun Chariot, so O'Brien is mulling the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) as well as the Filly & Mare Turf. In her only try at about 1 1/4 miles, she just barely got home under a very heady ride in the Nassau S. (Eng-G1), with a luckless Lush Lashes closing furiously and missing by a head. Needless to say, Halfway to Heaven would be a legitimate contender in either Breeders' Cup event. The Filly & Mare Turf gained another possible entrant in MAD ABOUT YOU (Indian Ridge), who rolled to a 3 1/2-length tally in Sunday's Garnet S. at Naas. The Dermot Weld filly was twice Group 1-placed as a juvenile, once to Zarkava, and in her sophomore debut, just failed to catch Halfway to Heaven in the Irish Guineas. After finishing a good second to the older PROMISING LEAD (Danehill) in the Pretty Polly S. (Ire-G1), Mad About You turned in the worst effort of her career when eighth in the 1 1/2-mile Irish Oaks (Ire-G1). Weld freshened her up, added blinkers, and cut her back in trip for the Garnet, and she responded with a dominating display. She looks ready for a bigger challenge. While the Queen Elizabeth II S. (Eng-G1) has traditionally served as a stepping stone to the Breeders' Cup Mile, the fascinating renewal of this Ascot contest on September 27 may end up having a much greater bearing on the Classic. The aforementioned Raven's Pass finally scored a victory at the expense of archrival HENRYTHENAVIGATOR (Kingmambo), and both are contemplating a transfer of hostilities from a grassy mile to the 10 Pro-Ride furlongs at Santa Anita. The conventional wisdom is that Raven's Pass defeated "Henry" this time because he lay closer, launched his move sooner, and beat Henry to the punch. While the change in tactics helped, I don't think that explains it entirely. If "Raven" had poached a lead, and Henry came flailing away too late, then the tactics can be credited. But that's not quite the way the stretch run unfolded. A full quarter-mile out, Raven was traveling unbelievably well, with jockey Jimmy Fortune having the proverbial double-handful of horse. Henry, however, was not moving particularly fluently, and Murtagh was soon urging him to get into position. When Raven threw down his challenge to the disappointing French colt TAMAYUZ (Nayef), who weakly, and surprisingly, gave up the ghost in his British debut, Henry was right on his flank. The fast-ground Henry of high summer would probably have taken it from there, but unfortunately for him, he was not racing on his kind of ground. The Ascot authorities had chosen to water the course, which in combination with the morning dew at this time of year, actually produced "false" ground, that is loose on top. Some trainers were roundly critical of this watering policy, including Raven's conditioner, John Gosden. Henry could not get the kind of traction that he needs, and to my eyes, his stride did not even look as confident and authoritative as it did on his preferred ground. Surely, this necessity for a sound surface counts as a demerit in terms of his stature in history, but it is nonetheless a fact that must be taken into account. Raven was perfectly happy on the watered ground, Henry was not, and that may explain why he not only hurled Henry back, but pulled one length clear at the wire. Raven might have defeated Henry on firm going too, but we'll never know, thanks to Ascot. Interestingly, no winner of the QEII has ever won the Breeders' Cup Mile, but three QEII runners-up have gone onto Mile glory -- Miesque (1987), Barathea (Ire) (1994) and Ridgewood Pearl (GB) (1995). Judging by that statistic, Gosden may be on the right track to consider the Classic, but it augurs even better for Henry's chances in the Mile, where the turf would be made to order for him. Finally, although it will presumably have no impact on this year's Breeders' Cup, I must mention Saturday's Champion S. at Newmarket, featuring my Epsom Derby hero NEW APPROACH (Galileo [Ire]). Hopefully he will go out on a high note, but there are a few tough customers lining up against him, including Weld's highly regarded FAMOUS NAME (Dansili [GB]), Fabre's up-and-coming RUSSIAN CROSS (Cape Cross [Ire]), Henry Cecil's admirable TWICE OVER (Observatory) and the veterans PIPEDREAMER (Selkirk) and LINNGARI (Indian Ridge). In an upcoming feature, I'll have more to say about the European invaders who are descending upon the Breeders' Cup. *Quotations from the Penguin Classic edition, translated by C.M. Bowra, of Nemean I, Olympian III and Olympian I, respectively.
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