Zarkava yesterday confirmed the impression that she is out of the ordinary with a scintillating victory in the Qatar Prix Vermeille at Longchamp. The stage is now set for a tour de force from the unbeaten filly in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Ladbrokes quote Zarkava at 7-4 to land the middle-distance championship, but those odds might look generous on October 5. Said to be short of peak fitness after a three-month break, Zarkava was still last with two furlongs to run, yet was eased down by Christophe Soumillon some way from the finish. She overhauled her 11 rivals in 300 yards, with Soumillon's whip resting idle in his hands.

Rarely has any filly excited as does Zarkava, who descends from another outstanding French distaffer in Petite Etoile. Yet to be extended in six starts, she will crown a glittering career to date should she become the first filly to beat the colts in Paris for 15 years.

Nothing emerged from two further Arc trials yesterday to suggest otherwise. Zambezi Sun laboured to edge out Schiaparelli, Godolphin's promising German import, in the Prix Foy, and while Vision D'Etat had more in hand than his narrow victory over Ideal World in the Prix Niel, it is impossible to envisage him countering Zarkava's acceleration.

As much was conceded by Vision D'Etat's owner, Jacques Detre, who said: “My horse ran a very good race but earlier we saw an extra-terrestrial [in Zarkava].” Much the same occupied the mind of John Gosden, who saddled Dar Re Mi and Michita to finish second and fourth in the Vermeille. “Zarkava is exceptional,” Gosden said. “The only thing that can beat her [in the Arc] is heavy ground.”

On that score the Aga Khan, who owns and bred Zarkava, issued a caveat. He said. “We would be reluctant to run her if it came up very soft.”

That would be a great pity, since Zarkava conjured images of Dancing Brave by the manner of her victory. She also displayed the first signs of quirkiness that often accompanies equine greatness. She did not so much leave the stalls tardily as fall out of them fast asleep.

Alain de Royer-Dupré, the trainer of Zarkava, had an explanation. He said: “She got unnerved by the horse in the stalls beside her, and lost her focus.” Berthed on either side of Zarkava were Honoria and Adored, a pair of Ballydoyle pacemakers for Ice Queen, who failed to figure.

Zarkava's brilliance is something to behold even if she will find such antics harder to overcome in the Arc. Just as Pat Eddery bided his time aboard Dancing Brave in winning the 1986 Arc, so Soumillon sat motionless even when Zarkava trailed the leader by ten lengths at the two-furlong pole.

When he moved the filly wide, however, Zarkava became a whirlwind that engulfed everything in her path. Any concern that the 12-furlong trip might compromise her was also swept away. Further substance to her deeds arrived with the winning time, which matched the race record set by Pearly Shells six years ago.

At the Curragh, hope abounded that the Bank Of Scotland (Ireland) National Stakes would identify a clear favourite for next season's 2,000 Guineas but it did the opposite. The outcome, which saw Mastercraftsman edge out Shaweel, prompted Ladbrokes to demote Mastercraftsman from outright favouritism.

Heavy ground may have ruined the race as a spectacle but Ballydoyle was nevertheless able to celebrate its twentieth group one winner of the season to date. Duke Of Marmalade, responsible for five of those successes, could be a surprise runner at Great Leighs' trials meeting for the Breeders' Cup on Saturday week. O'Brien said: “They have a nine-and-a-half-furlong race but that is only a possibility.”