Glamour Sydneysider Melito may have earned Filly of the Year honours with her second Group One victory of the season in the Winter Stakes at Eagle Farm.Melito, having her seventh start this campaign, led most of the way to hold off the fast-finishing Kiwi mare Wealth Princess to score by three-quarters of a length in the 1400-metre feature.Sydney four-year-old Beaded finished third, a further two lengths away.Winning trainer Gerald Ryan said he was under no pressure with Melito going into the fi

Glamour Sydneysider Melito may have earned Filly of the Year honours with her second Group One victory of the season in the Winter Stakes at Eagle Farm.

Melito, having her seventh start this campaign, led most of the way to hold off the fast-finishing Kiwi mare Wealth Princess to score by three-quarters of a length in the 1400-metre feature.

Sydney four-year-old Beaded finished third, a further two lengths away.

Winning trainer Gerald Ryan said he was under no pressure with Melito going into the final Group One of the season and decided her best chance after drawing badly was to be ridden for speed.

"As soon as the barriers came out on Thursday I thought there's no speed in the race and her best chance was to be ridden close," Ryan said.

"I hadn't spoken to (jockey) Corey Brown until just before the race and he said the same thing.

"Surely she's done enough to win the Filly of the Year award now."

Ryan had won the Winter Stakes twice previously with Mon Mekki (2003) and Blushing Bijou (1992).

He has no doubt Melito is easily the best filly he has trained and was confident her win would clinch the Filly of the Year award.

"I wasn't under any pressure. All the pressure was on her before the Stradbroke," he said.

"She's a great filly and has a great nature. She's had seven runs this campaign but I never gallop the heart out of her."

Ryan said the only concern he had with the daughter of Redoute's Choice was last campaign when she was tried as a stayer and failed in the Group One VRC Oaks at Flemington last November.

He now plans to give Melito a well-deserved break before bringing her back for two spring runs in Melbourne.

"She'll run in either the Schillaci or Moir Stakes and then in the Patinack Farm," he said.

Ryan heaped praise on Brown's coolness and steady hand on Melito.

"Corey rode her sensationally. You won't see a better ride," he said.

It was Brown's fifth Group One winner of the season.

He didn't panic in the early stages when Melito was caught wide in a speed battle for the lead.

"I was hoping Gold Water would lead us so I could take a sit," Brown said.

"But once she got to the front I backed off her a bit, it wasn't over then.

"I knew it would take a good horse to beat her and I could hear them clicking up behind us and making runs but she had it won 200 metres out."

Jockey Michael Walker blamed the track for Wealth Princess' defeat.

"The track was too cut up for her and that's not how she likes it," Walker said.

Wealth Princess was having her last start for Kiwi trainer Brent Gillovic before being transferred to Melbourne trainer Lee Freedman.