'You'd be hopeful he could step up' - Group races next for Royal Ascot hero Crystal Black as connections ponder Australia trip
![Crystal Black: winner of the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fprod-media-racingpost%2Fprod%2Fimages%2F169_1008%2F8e256cdd5051-ascot.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Royal Ascot winner Crystal Black could step up to Group company in next month's Ballyroan Stakes at Leopardstown before connections consider a trip to Australia.
The Ger Keane-trained six-year-old, who stormed to victory in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes last month, has been a revelation in handicaps since scoring at the Curragh over a mile off a mark of 77 last August.
He has landed four of his subsequent five starts, including a premier handicap at the Curragh in September, and stayed on powerfully on his first effort over a mile and a half at Ascot when defeating Epic Poet by two and a quarter lengths under the trainer's son Colin.
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