With the Group I Queensland Oaks and Derby to both be run at Eagle Farm this Saturday, after appalling weather forced racing to be abandoned last week, there is no chance this year of one horse winning both, but a filly that achieved the feat in 1988 is playing a key role in this year’s carnival.
Bravery was the darling filly of the 1988 Brisbane Winter Carnival for the Brian Mayfield-Smith stable winning both the Queensland Oaks and Derby before retiring to stud in 1989.
The daughter of Zephyr Zip enjoyed a long and fruitful career as a broodmare with her best offspring being Group II winner Brave Prince and the slick Listed stakes-winning filly Valourina.
By outstanding speed sire sire Snippets, Valourina had none of the stamina or G1 ability of her dam, but she had other valuable assets and produced 13 winners from 14 foals to race including Group II winners Timbourina and Media as well as stakes-winner Cardinal Virtue and all three were Group I placed.
Media was the fourth foal of Valourina and was offered at the 2004 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale by her breeder Twin Palms Stud and sold for $390,000 to Newhaven Park.
The Kelly family are never short of quality fillies from their own high class female families, but to remain at the top of the game commercially you need to keep updating and evolving with Media seen as a part of that strategy.
By an outcross shuttle sire in Gilded Time (USA) from a stakes-winning daughter of a dual classic winner - that’s a pedigree profile that screams residual value, which is exactly what they got.
Media was a brilliant two year-old winning the Group II STC Magic Night Stakes and placing in the Group I STC Golden Slipper and AJC Champagne Stakes before returning as an older mare to post multiple Group I placings.
Expectation would have been sky high when she went to stud with matings in her first three years to Redoute’s Choice, Exceed and Excel and Tale of the Cat (USA) producing three fillies and while all were able to win, none were worthy of Black Type.
The third of those fillies was Aware and in recent weeks she has gone a long way to bringing glory back to the family through the deeds of her outstanding two year-old colt Cool Archie.
Retained by Newhaven Park, Aware was given every chance at stud with covers to Redoute’s Choice and I Am Invincible early in her stud career, but again Black Type performance in her offspring was looking elusive until she was covered by the Kelly’s new stallion Cool Aza Beel in his first season in 2021.
Newhaven sold the resulting colt for $100,000 at Magic Millions to Mick Malone Bloodstock on behalf of his good client Max Whitby and it’s been happy days!
Cool Archie has been well handled by Chris and Corey Munce earning a start in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic in January where he ran eighth before returning this prep to win four on the trot including the $1million Group II BRC Sires Produce Stakes.
The only question still to answer for Cool Archie is can he run the mile of the Group I BRC JJ Atkins on June 14 for which he is now favourite? Probably if there is a little bit of that Bravery blood flowing in his veins!
Footnote: Aware produced a colt by Cool Aza Beel last spring and is back in foal to him again.
Two of Aware’s daughters, Mietta and Awareness produced foals last year by Cool Aza Beel and Mietta is back in foal to him again.
Aware also has a half-sister called Yield that produced a colt by Cool Aza Beel last year and is back in foal to him, while Media is still going, albeit turning 23 this year and she went to Newhaven Park's other Savabeel son Mo'Unga in his first season last spring.
