Beaded and Yosei boasted the equal highest peak Timeform rating of Eagle Farm's Group 1 Winter Stakes (1400m) field on Saturday where the pair fought out the finish accordingly with Stuart Webb's filly claiming the spoils.
Photo by Racing and Sports
The Peter Snowden-trained Beaded started as an odds-on favourite in Saturday's Group 1 Tattersall's Tiara (1400m) and her starting price was justifiable.
Beaded went into the race off career best runs in the Group 1 Doomben 10000 (1st, 1350m) and the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (2nd, 1400m) and appeared the logical choice against a Tattersall's Tiara field which was lacking in form and depth at the top level.
The mare received a near ideal run midfield from jockey Corey Brown and looked poised to record a second Group 1 victory as she struck the front in the straight.
Favourite punters were left in shock however as Yosei went from last to first along the inside and edged past the popular mare over the concluding stages.
It was Yosei's third Group 1 win following her previous successes in the Sires' Produce Stakes (1600m) at Randwick as a juvenile and also the Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield last spring.
Awarded Timeform figures of 116 and 120 for the respective events, Yosei's Winter Stakes (1400m) performance last Saturday was rated 118.
Yosei went into Saturday's Winter Stakes a clear outsider as although she boasted the equal highest Timeform figure of the field alongside Beaded, her first two runs this campaign following knee surgery to remove bone chips were underwhelming.
Third up and reunited with jockey Michelle Payne Yosei however bounced back to her best.
The performance assessed at 118 sits marginally above the five year winning average of the Winter Stakes which has been bolstered largely thanks to Melito's 2010 success rated at 122.
Placing behind Melito that day was Beaded who ran three pounds higher this year to move up a place and finish second.
Beaded's latest performance however was rated three pounds below her last two runs and could perhaps be an early sign she has given her all during those occasions and may not have much more left for the racetrack.
The consistent mare has missed the placings just once in a 22 start career and there is already discussions Beaded could now retire from racing and commence broodmare duties during the spring.
Yosei on the other hand will be spelled with a view toward racing in the spring with trainer Stuart Webb suggesting the rising four-year-old will be nominated for Group 1's such as the Myer Classic (1600m) at Flemington and also Moonee Valley's Cox Plate (2040m).
Success in another Group 1 during her four-year-old season would greatly maximize Yosei's already high broodmare value.
Over the past 15 years, three winners of the Winter Stakes have gone on to taste top level success the following season with the event only elevated from Group 3 status to a Group 1 event in 2007.
Miss Potential (2004), Bonanova (1999) and Dane Ripper (1997) all went on from their Winter Stakes wins to claim Group 1's the following season.
