THIS is a busy time of year on any stud farm, and it is no different at Paddy and Helena Burns’ Loughtown Stud in Donadea.

Mares foaling and being covered is part of the routine, and one of their broodmare band who had a date at Kildangan Stud this week was Cristal Fashion.

The stakes-placed juvenile winner is a daughter of Jeremy (Danehill Dancer) and she was covered on Sunday night by Profitable (Invincible Spirit). That liaison came just hours after Cristal Fashion’s three-year-old daughter of Invincible Spirit (Green Desert), Princess Olly, impressed on her racecourse debut, winning the seven-furlong maiden at Cork in eye-catching fashion.

Moved to Adrian Murray from Richard Hannon’s yard, she carried the colours of Amo Racing, and she was the first of two maiden winners they had on the card. Princess Olly was bred by Loughtown Stud in partnership with the Irish National Stud, and her upgrading to a covering by the latter’s headline stallion was justified when, as a yearling, she sold to Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock for 220,000gns.

One senses that the shrewd Paddy Burns picked up something of a bargain when he paid just €25,000 for Cristal Fashion in 2016, carrying a filly who was later named Lady Lynetta (Tamayuz). When she sold as a yearling for €80,000 she more than rewarded the investment in her dam, and then she went on to win a couple of races.

Lady Lynetta was covered last year by Havana Grey (Havana Gold), and that sire is now off the mark with his first crop winner Star Of Lady M.

Bright future

Following Lady Lynetta was Ciotog (Dandy Man) and he was runner-up twice last year from three starts when trained by Brian Meehan. He would appear to be a winner-in-waiting. Princess Olly is the fourth foal and second winner for Cristal Fashion, and she is followed by a yearling colt by Starspangledbanner (Choisir) and a Kodiac (Danehill) colt foal. The future looks bright indeed.

Crystal Fashion is one of a pair of winners out of Mango Groove (Unfuwain), and she is a daughter of the Group 3 two-year-old winner Solar Crystal (Alzao) who was placed in the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac. That day she had Dance Design a length and a half in arrears in fourth. The best of Solar Crystal’s five winners was Feared In Flight (Hawk Wing) who was third in the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy.

Solar Crystal’s siblings include the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile winner Crystal Music (Nureyev) and Group 3 winner and Group 1-placed State Crystal (High Estate). The latter mare is the third dam of Group 1 Prix Jean Prat winner Zelzal (Sea The Stars).