The Aga Khan’s Zarkava is Europe’s highest-rated juvenile filly, while Princess Zahra Khan’s Darjina was awarded top rating in the three-year-old turf filly category. Zarkava’s two and a half length success in the Gr 1 Prix Marcel Boussac was judged to be the best performance of 2007 by a juvenile filly. She has been rated 119, 6lb higher than Conference Call who was runner up in the mile contest. Zarkava only ran twice as a two-year-old and had been supplemented into the Gr 1 event following an impressive debut at Longchamp in early September.

Zarkava is a daughter of Zamindar and Kahyasi mare Zarkasha, a half sister to Gr 3 winner Zarkiya from the Classic family of Zainta. She is a fifth-generation descendant of dual Classic winner and multiple Gr 1 heroine Petite Etoile. The filly carries high hopes for Classic glory of her own in 2008.

Triple Gr 1-winning Darjina was joint top European filly on a rating of 122 which was identical to that of four-time Gr 1 scorer Peeping Fawn, and the duo shared top honours in the worldwide category of turf female. While Peeping Fawn did not compete against her male counterparts, Darjina’s best effort of the season was her impressive victory over Ramonti in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp.

Darjina’s rating of 122 is only equalled by Divine Proportions among female turf milers in the last ten years.

Darjina is a daughter of Zamindar and Group-placed Darinska and is from the family of Prix du Jockey-Club winner Darsi.

Updated on 17/01/08