The retirement of Peter Snowden’s glamour mare Beaded to embark on a career as a broodmare will be decided after the if the five-year-old attempts to add a second Group 1 win to her impressive record with a Tattersall’s Tiara triumph this Saturday.
Beaded could add to her value as a future broodmare with a win in the Tattersall's Tiara
An ultra consistent daughter of champion sire Lonhro, Beaded has finished out of the top three just once in her stunning 21-start career to date.
The top class sprinter has seven-times lined up in elite company with her Group 1 runs producing an incredible record of one win, two seconds, three thirds and a fourth place finish.
Beaded scored her maiden thoroughbred major during this year’s Brisbane Winter Carnival, the unswerving galloper claiming a thrillingly tight victory over Love Conquers All in the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 (1350m) on May 28.
She backed up a fortnight later running in Queensland’s richest race, Beaded far from disgraced running a neck away second to gun three-year-old Sincero in the $1 million Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 11.
Now she is set to take on a field of her own company, the $500,000 Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) at Eagle Farm this Saturday seemingly Beaded’s for the taking with the $320,000 first prize to push her lucrative career earnings to over the $1.75 million mark.
“She has come through the Stradbroke run really well,” Snowden said.
“She’s in good shape for the race.”
Snowden knows that Beaded has done all that is required of her to be a valuable mare in the breeding barn, and although he is sure she could handle another year of racing without issue, her now very commanding record would see her be out-weighted in any handicap targets.
“Once a mare has won a Group 1 it doesn’t really matter if she wins another couple,” Snowden explained.
“She’s done her job as far as her worth at stud is concerned.
“We’ll have another look after the Winter Stakes (Tattersall’s Tiara) performance.”
There were 18 nominations for the 2011 Tattersall’s Tiara, formerly the Winter Stakes, when entries were taken on Monday.
Other notable fillies and mares ready to give Beaded a run for her money include the Michael Moroney-trained Born To Rock coming off a win in the Listed Gai Waterhouse Classic (1350m) at Ipswich last Saturday, Kelso Wood’s locally-trained multiple Group placegetter Zero Rock, last year’s Thousand Guineas winner Yosei, upset QTC Cup champion Varenna Miss and Hurtle Myrtle.
Matthew Smith’s Dane Shadow mare Hurtle Myrtle raced into Tatt’s Tiara contention when she scored an upset win over Zero Rock in the Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 4.
Smith said he was hoping to give the four-year-old her final workout ahead of Saturday’s showdown on the grass at the Sunshine Coast track.
“Even though she won’t have raced for three weeks going into the Tiara, she doesn’t need a lot of hard yakka on the track to be right to go,” Smith said.
“She’s a mare who takes a week to get over a run and she produces her best with her starts spaced.”
Twelve months ago the Tattersall’s Tiara was won by the now-retired Melito, who beat home Wealth Princess and the third-placed Beaded, Meltio’s trainer Gerald Ryan without a runner in this year’s edition.
