The Newsells Park Stud bred and raised Librisa Breeze stormed home to win the Gr.1 QIPCO Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot Racecourse on Saturday 21st October for trainer Dean Ivory and owner Tony Bloom.

It was the seventh individual Gr.1 winner bred by Newsells Park Stud since 2010.  Others include, Legatissimo, Masked Marvel and 2016 two-year-old winner Waldgiest who went a close second in the 2017 Gr.1 Prix du Jockey Club earlier this year.  Librisa Breeze was also the second consecutive winner of this race by a Newsells sire, as he is by Mount Nelson who moved to Ireland only last year.  In 2016 the Champions Sprint was won by the dual Gr.1 winning son of Equiano, The Tin Man.

A top-class sprint race over 6f this five-year-old grey was dropping back in trip and everything fell into place as he was delivered from off the strong pace to secure his first Group success by one and a quarter length. Previously he has won the International Stakes and Challenge Cup at Ascot and finished second in the Gr.2 Hungerford Sakes in August.

Jockey Robert Winston said: “Librisa Breeze needs a very strong gallop and loves the soft ground and this track too. He seems pretty suited to this track for some reason. He was always going to get there.”

Owner Tony Bloom was celebrating his first Gr.1 success and said: “It was a brilliant race and he is a brilliant horse. Life doesn’t always go to plan but this week has gone incredibly well.”

It was also the first Gr.1 success for the understandably jubilant trainer Dean Ivory, who said on Sunday: “We’ve always known he was a good horse but he’s been unlucky. He’s proved himself now and that gives us confidence for the future.  We’ve made an entry for Hong Kong in December, and we were already thinking in terms of Dubai in March. There are a couple of races in Qatar too that might suit, and now we’ve also had an invitation to go to Australia, so there’s plenty to think about.”

Bred, raised and sold by Newsells Park Stud, Librisa Breeze was sold as a foal at Tattersalls for 60,000gns to Sackville Donald.  He is out of the French three-year-old winner and Stakes performer Bruxcalina (Linamix), a half-sister to Gr.3 winner and Gr.1 performer Baraan and Stakes performer Brampour.

Librisa Breeze wasn’t the only Newsells bred horse to gain Group success this weekend, with Maurus finishing third in the Gr.3 Coongy Handicap at Caulfield in Australia.