Arc winner Zarkava retires unbeaten

Unbeaten Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Zarkava has been retired to stud, owner the Aga Khan said yesterday.

The filly, who won all seven races she contested, won the world's richest race on turf at Longchamp earlier this month, ridden by Christophe Soumillon.

"Whilst no-one will regret more than my management team and I not to see Zarkava race again, as she is such a supreme athlete, we have decided to retire her to the Aga Khan broodmare band, as she will be an invaluable asset to this essential part of our activity," the Aga Khan said in a statement.

The Aga Khan said the decision had been taken after discussion with Zarkava's trainer, Alain de Royer-Dupre.

Zarkava retires unbeaten in seven races spanning five Group One wins, including the Prix Marcel Boussac as a two-year-old, the Prix Vermeille and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

She became the first filly to win the Arc since Urban Sea in 1993, the emphatic manner of her success evoking memories of the great Allez France in 1974.