BOBBY Donworth and Honora Corridan’s Round Hill Stud bred Libran, a six-year-old son of Lawman (Invincible Spirit), who last weekend added the 10-furlong Group 3 Kingston Town Stakes at Randwick to previous successes in the 13-furlong Group 2 Schweppes Chairman’s Handicap at the same track, the mile and a half Group 3 N E Manion Cup at Rosehill and the Listed Randwick City Stakes over 10 furlongs. He showed further versatility when second over two miles in the Group 1 Schweppes Sydney Cup. He races in the Highclere Thoroughbred Racing colours.

Libran’s sire Lawman won the French Derby and the Ballylinch resident is responsible for five Group 1 winners to date. They include the Group 1 winning two-year-old and new sire recruit for 2017 Marcel, the 1000 Guineas winner Just The Judge, St James’s Palace Stakes winner and first season sire Most Improved, another Group 1 winning juvenile in Law Enforcement, and the St Leger winner Harbour Law. Lawman commanded a fee for the 2016 season of €25,000.

Libran is easily the best of four winners to date for his dam True Crystal, a winning daughter of Sadler’s Wells (Northern Dancer) and one of nine winners for her dam State Crystal (High Estate) who won the Lancashire Oaks and was placed in top-class events such as the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks and Prix Vermeille.

This year and last have been good for the family and Libran is one of three group winners in the immediate family in 2016 and 2017. True Crystal’s full-sister Opera Aida is the grandam of Zelzal (Sea The Stars) and he won the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat last year, while his three-year-old half-sister Ibiza (Redoute’s Choice) captured the Group 3 Prix Chloe this year. Two other full-sisters bred stakes winners, one of them, Top Crystal, producing the Group 3 Minstrel Stakes winner Three Rocks (Rock Of Gibraltar).

This is a family that has generation after generation produced top notch winners and State Crystal was one of four stakes winners from her dam Crystal Spray (Beldale Flutter). Heading this list was the Group 1 winning two-year-old Crystal Music (Nureyev) who was classic-placed at three, and she in turn is the grandam of the Group 2 Prix Greffulhe winner Ocovango (Monsun).

Another of the quartet of stakes winners out of Crystal Spray was the Group 3 John Porter Stakes winner Dubai Success (Sadler’s Wells), while his half-sister Solar Crystal won the Group 3 May Hill Stakes at two and was placed in the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac.

Interestingly, Crystal Spray bred the non-stakes winner Tchaikovsky (Sadler’s Wells) but he did manage a Group 1 placing when third in the Irish Derby.

Libran has more than repaid his yearling purchase price of 35,000gns and this year True Crystal foaled a full-brother to the current favourite for the Group 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Randwick next Saturday.

Breeders, stallion masters and readers are invited to contact Leo Powell at leopowell@theirishfield.ie with news and updates for the column, and to visit our website www.theirishfield.ie for daily breeding news