Mike Cattermole on his favourite recent Flat fillies and mares including Zarkava, Goldikova and Pebbles

The best fillies and mares always excite us. We have had no better examples of this on the Flat over recent years than from Enable over here and, especially, Winx in Australia.

The special fillies and mares can beat the colts, the very special can make a habit of it.

There are a lot of well-known names missing from this list, such as Petite Etoile, Park Top, but sorry, they were before my time. No Winx, nor Zenyatta either as the list below consists of those trained in Europe that have done the business in relatively more recent times.

It was very tough narrowing it down to 10 but they all had two things in common - outstanding talent and a superb track record.

But, it is hardly an exhaustive list, so we’d love to hear about those left out but have left their mark on you. Bosra Sham? Indian Skimmer? Triptych? Ouija Board? Snow Fairy?

Send your thoughts to racing.feedback@sportinglife.com and the pick of the bunch will be added to the article below.

ALL ALONG (foaled 1979, trained by Patrick-Louis Biancone)

Got one of the most daring of all Arc rides from Walter Swinburn when landing the big prize from up the inside at Longchamp in 1983.

Swinburn was not first, second or even third choice to ride All Along that day. Astonishingly, he was the seventh in line after the likes of Lester Piggott, Freddie Head, Greville Starkey, Gary Moore, Cash Asmussen and Joe Mercer had either turned her down or were unavailable.

What a great piece of fortune for young Walter who found a dream run through to come late as she stormed through with an incredible burst to beat Sun Princess and Time Charter et al.

And it didn’t end there - by any means! The partnership were sent off in search of the big bucks and, in a golden autumn, duly reeled off a brilliant North American Grade 1 hat-trick in the Rothmans International at Woodbine, the Turf Classic at Aqueduct and the Washington International at Laurel, also earning her a cool million dollar bonus.

She earned a Timeform rating of 134.

ENABLE (2014, John Gosden)

Her brilliant unbeaten run of 12 was ended as she chased an unprecedented third consecutive Arc at Longchamp last October. She will be back to try again, we hope, later this year.

Enable is also a dual King George winner, a Breeders’ Cup Turf winner and an Eclipse winner. In short, her record is outstanding, even among these legendary names. She has the ability to quicken and maintain a flat-out gallop that her rivals just cannot live with.

In all, she has won ten Group 1s with possibly more to come. She has a Timeform rating of 134.

GOLDIKOVA (2005, Freddie Head)

A stunning model of consistency at the highest level over five seasons, Goldikova won 14 Group/Grade 1s, a European record, which included nine against the males, including a record three successive Breeders’ Cup Mile’s.

Usually positioned quite close to the pace, Goldikova killed off her rivals with an outstanding turn of foot. I used to feel sorry for Paco Boy, a top-class colt blessed with his own talents, but his finishing speed was never quite good enough to beat her, going down 0-4 in their head-to-head.

Speaking of heads, Freddie, Goldikova’s trainer, was also the rider of Miesque and he always said that Goldikova was the superior racehorse. Some praise.

Her highest Timeform rating was 133.

HABIBTI (1980, John Dunlop)

Habibti is often overlooked in these sorts of lists. No more!

For one thing, she is the only sprinter here and she reeled off all the big ones during the summer and autumn of 1983 once she reverted to sprinting, namely the July Cup, the Sprint Championship at York, the Haydock Sprint Cup and the Prix de l’Abbaye. On every occasion, the admirable Soba chased her home.

Habibiti’s best performance came at Haydock (she was better at 6f than 5f) when she stormed home by seven lengths, an extraordinary margin for a top-class sprint race. Her stunning efforts, punctuated by a blinding turn of pace, were all backed up by the clock, too.

"We have no hesitation in rating her the best sprinter of her sex in our experience", said Racehorses of 1983. Praise indeed from Timeform who gave her a staggering rating of 136.

MIESQUE (1984, Francois Boutin)

Although Freddie Head, who partnered her to ten Group/Grade 1 wins, rated Goldikova her superior, we just cannot leave Miesque off any list.

Unlike Goldikova, Miesque won two Classics, the English and French 1,000 Guineas, but she will be best remembered as the dual winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile as well as the first to record two wins in the Prix Jacques le Marois. She beat Warning on the second occasion.

Until Goldikova came along, her record at the highest level was the best numerically of a horse trained in Europe and overtook the previous high held by Triptych.

She was rated 133 by Timeform.

OH SO SHARP (1982, Henry Cecil)

I am not sure that Henry Cecil believed that Oh So Sharp was the best filly he trained – he went on record to say that Indian Skimmer (on soft ground) and later Bosra Sham were probably superior.

But I pick Oh So Sharp because I wanted one here from Warren Place and, as a Triple Crown winner, she earned it.

Only nine fillies have won the Triple Crown, the 1,000 Guineas, Oaks and St Leger. The Leger was the only time that Oh So Sharp beat the colts at the highest level, having suffered narrow reverses in both the King George (a touch unlucky) and Benson and Hedges Gold Cup at York, the only defeats of her career.

But you have to mention the Oaks. In an outstanding display, she beat Triptych, no less, by six lengths. She was unstoppable that day – at her very best.

Timeform rated her at 131.

PEBBLES (1981, Clive Brittain)

“England’s super filly” was how the American commentator called it when Pebbles became the first British-trained winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Aqueduct in 1985.

Pebbles was as versatile as she was dazzling. She won the 1,000 Guineas at three and then at four stepped up in trip to become the first filly to win the Eclipse Stakes (first run in 1886) when beating Rainbow Quest comfortably enough at Sandown.

The Champion Stakes that year was billed as the big clash between Slip Anchor, the runaway Derby winner, and Commanche Run, the previous year’s St Leger winner who had defeated Oh So Sharp at York.

Both were totally outclassed by Pebbles who travelled like a dream at Newmarket under Pat Eddery and cruised through to win by an eased down three lengths. It was an extraordinary, “hairs on the back of the neck” moment.

Then it was up to a mile and a half for the Breeders where her ability to change gear instantly got her out of trouble before going onto smash the track record by over a second. Just incredible.

Timeform gave her a rating of 135.

TIME CHARTER (1979, Henry Candy)

A personal one, this, as I visited Newmarket for the very first time on Champion Stakes day in 1982 and I will never forget the way that Time Charter streaked away to win – by seven lengths, a record for the race.

It was stunning to watch against a field that contained an Eclipse winner (Kalaglow) and a Guineas winner (Zino). She was still on the bridle but trapped in a pocket with just over a furlong to go but her acceleration under hand riding from Billy Newnes, when in the clear, instantly turned me into a big fan.

The following summer, when Newnes was injured, Joe Mercer rang for the ride in the King George at Ascot, the only time he had rung for a ride in his career. Joe produced Time Charter brilliantly on the outside as she cut down Diamond Shoal and Sun Princess with a sustained run.

She then beat All Along in the Prix Foy but was only fourth to her in the Arc.

As a five-year-old she wasn’t quite so good but still able to beat Sun Princess on the bridle (under Steve Cauthen) in the Coronation Cup.

Her best Timeform rating was 131.

TREVE (2010, Criquette Head)

Became the first dual winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe since Alleged in 2014 having been written off by most in the run-up to the race.

She had been in a class of her own in the 2013 Arc, storming home by five lengths, but her four-year-old campaign was not a smooth one, at all.

That she made it to defend her Arc title was a major achievement by her trainer who never, ever lost faith. Others did, me included!

Treve had problems with both her back and feet at four but as her second Arc approached, Criquette said: “Mentally she is still strong, less so physically. But I wouldn’t run her unless I thought she was mentally up for the challenge.”

She was proved so right.

Like Enable more recently, her attempt at a hat-trick of Arcs, came up a little short. The mystery is, why? Her five-year-old season saw her seemingly back to her best and she was sensational in the Vermeille, winning by six lengths.

Winning three Arcs in a row clearly is beyond even the very best.

Timeform rated her on 134.

ZARKAVA (2005, Alain De Royer-Dupre)

Unbeaten in seven starts, a dual Classic winner and an Arc winner. A perfect record for this descendant of the great Petite Etoile!

Zarkava was clearly a filly with unbelievable ability and a few quirks, too. “A strong spirit which must be managed carefully”, said her trainer.

She also had incredible acceleration, and could quicken at an instant. Christophe Soumillon reckons she was the best he had ridden, along with Dalakhani, another good Arc winner.

You just can’t find fault with Zarkava’s form. Remember, she beat Goldikova both in the Pouliches and the Prix de Diane, quite comfortably.

Her Vermeille success was achieved against a high-class filly in Dar Re Mi after standing still in the stalls and losing around ten lengths.

Her Arc win, weaving her way through under a “ballsy” ride from “Soumi”, was gained at the chief expense of Youmzain, the ideal Arc yardstick who was beaten the same two-length margin by Sea The Stars a year later.

It’s a shame we didn’t see more of Zarkava as she was retired after her three-year-old campaign.

She had a Timeform rating of 133.

Feedback from readers

Dave Chapman: Allez France and Pebbles were prob the two best in my humble opinion, but all the same that’s a great list there.

Our Friends in the North

• Richard Fahey Stable Tour
• Mark Johnston Stable Tour
• David O'Meara Stable Tour
• Jedd O'Keeffe Stable Tour
• Kevin Ryan Stable Tour
• John Quinn Stable Tour
• Karl Burke Stable Tour
• Michael Dods Stable Tour
• Tim Easterby Stable Tour
• Brian Ellison Stable Tour
• Ben Haslam Stable Tour
• Phillip Makin Stable Tour