Samantha Miss, Here's What You Have To Do

I discussed the background of French filly Zarkava (3f Zamindar-Zarkasha, by Kahyasi) in my post The Aga Sure Khan on 16 September. If you saw last night’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe you’d be convinced you were seeing a champion in action.

Making her first attempt at open weight-for-age, all her earlier six unbeaten performances coming against her own age and sex at 1600m-plus, Zarkava was electrifying, no other word for it. At this point in her career she is up there with the Allez Frances, Dahlias, Ruffians and Surrounds, or even Petite Etoile from whom she is a direct female line descendant.

Comparisons will no doubt be made in this part of the world with Sydney/Newcastle three-year-old queen Samantha Miss (3f Redoute’s Choice-Milliyet (NZ), by Zabeel (NZ)) who to quite a degree shares Zarkava’s blinding turn of foot. Samantha Miss is not unbeaten, but that’s irrelevant really. In nine starts her cumulative margin of defeat has been just three lengths and she has already beaten males once in three attempts, in the G1 AJC Champagne Stakes, which Zarkava hadn’t been required to do until the Arc.

The main difference between the two at this stage is their age. Zarkava has had her supreme moment as a late three-year-old whereas Samantha Miss has just completed the first quarter of her three-year-old season. However, she would have to win a W.S. Cox Plate, every bit as rare and difficult to do for a three-year-old filly in Australia as it is for a three-year-old filly in the Arc, for her to earn true comparison. Or should she not run in the Cox Plate, come back in the autumn and win something like the G1 Australian Cup, 2000m.

Zarkava has a link to last Saturday’s racing at Flemington via Light Vision, winner of the Listed Bart Cummings Handicap over 2520m. His sire, Zerpour (Ire) is a 1994 Aga Khan product by Darshaan. His fourth dam Zahra is the third dam of Zarkava.

Committing those mortal sins of winning over staying journeys, Zerpour (Ire) developed good form when imported to Australia, winning the G2 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes, 2500m (beating Samantha Miss' uncle, Cronus, 3rd), and the Werribee Cup, 2000m. Installed at (a euphemism for ‘banished to’) Auckland’s Westbury Stud, he proved sensationally unpopular, struggling to attract mares and leaving 158 live foals in seven seasons of use, many of them to Westbury’s own mares. He was down to nine mares covered in 2005 and just four in 2006 at an advertised fee of ‘on application’ (a euphemism for ‘we’ll give you a thousand bucks’). Though his numbers have been low, probably matched by the quality of mares served, Zerpour has been a modest achiever with four stakeswinners from 74 starters. He departed New Zealand in January 2007 and I seem to recall him being advertised as standing somewhere in Australia, possibly Victoria, though he's not listed as such yet on the Australian Stud Book website.

While her staying capacity has yet to be tested, Samantha Miss is probably relying on the French if she is to be effective in that area. Her stamina source will undoubtedly be the female line of her broodmare sire Zabeel who traces to Diseuse, dam of Le Filou (Fr), and from whom the likes of Arc de Triomphe winners Detroit and Carnegie (Ire) descend. The two outstanding fillies share a similarity inasmuch as their sires were essentially sprinter-milers: Zarkava’s sire, Gone West’s son Zamindar, pictured above, was not placed beyond 1400m, and Redoute’s Choice won only up to 1600m though he was fifth in a strong W.S. Cox Plate, 2040m, behind Sunline and Tie The Knot.

John Messara shuttled Zamindar's superior racing brother Zafonic (USA) to Arrowfield in 2002, only to have the horse die via accident after coverng four mares. With his new-found bosom buddy the Aga, might he be able to arrange a match race between the two super fillies some time next year?

Incidentally, Zamindar’s previous best galloper until the emergence of Zarkava, the Princess Zahra Aga Khan’s triple G1 winning filly Darjina, was retired after finishing second on Saturday in the G1 Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket, incredibly her sixth consecutive G1 second placing. You’d want to retire her just to stop ripping your hair out.

P.S. Add to the match race the fabulous unbeaten American filly Zenyatta (by Street Cry). Jockey Mike Smith has said she is probably the best horse he has sat on, and that's a big, big call.