Big French wins at Royal Ascot

Two French-trained horses won top contests at the Royal Ascot meeting second day on Wednesday.
Second to Brametot in the Abu Dhabi Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French 2,000-Gr1) last month at Deauville, Le Brivido (Siyouni) made the Jersey Stakes (Gr3) his with Pierre-Charles Boudot on borad. The André Fabre-trained colt took the lead about two furlongs out and held on bravely to the post to win by a neck.
Le Brivido is owned by Saudi Prince Faisal bin Khaled. He was bred by Jean and Brigitte Bugada, a couple from the Jura region, at Marie-Laure Collet's Haras de Clairefontaine in Mayenne. According to French Internet daily Jour de Galop, his dam La Bugatty (Dr Fong) had been sold to them by the Bugada's old friend Jean-Charles Coudé. She only ran once and finished 4th over 2,600 meters in Lisieux at 3.
Yet, as a Yearling, Brivido made €42,000 at Arqana's October sales in Deauville, when sold to Irish pinhooker George Mullins, who sent him back there for the breeze up sales, only that that time, he was sold  €105,000 € to agent Ted Voute.
The Jersey Stakes is not a Group 1 contest, only a Group 3, but it is one of the hardest races to win at Royal Ascot. Brivido succeeded Dutch Connection and Ribchester in the race. The latter won the Queen Anne Stakes (Gr1), the milers Championship for aged horses, on Tuesday, opening day of the 2017 meeting. By the way, the race's 4th Spectre (Siyouni) was also bred in France by her owner-trainer, former Bayern Munich's footie player Marcus Münch!
Outstanding racehorses and sires like Diktat, Observatory or Mozart are also on the Jersey Stakes roll of honour. No horse trained in France had ever won the race, not since 1978 anyhow.
It is thus a real big French victory, like that of Qemah (Danehill Dancer) in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes (Gr2), a mile contest for mares. Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, she dominated the field, even more convincingly than a year ago, when she won the Coronation Stakes (Gr1) as a 3yo. Also trained in France, by André Fabre in Chantilly, Usherette (Shamardal) finished third for the Godolphin team in the same race, while Aim To Please (Excellent Art), also from France, finished 5th. Aim To Please was bred by Elizabeth Doumen's Haras d'Ecouves and trained by her husband, François Doumen, for the Vasicek family. Since Monday however, she's racing for John Dance, who bought her £340,000 at the Goffs selection sales in London.
Qemah was born in Ireland but she is eligible to the French Premiums thanks to her early import. Her breeders are Pierre Talvard's Haras du Cadran and the SCEA des Bissons owned by Jean Cottin, a breeder also very well known in France for his standardbreds. First foal out of Groupe-placed Kartica (Rainbow Quest), Qemah was sold €200,000 as a yearling at Deauville sales to Mandore Agency for Al Shaqab Racing.
On Friday, 2-year-old Frenchbred filly Different League (Dabirsim) won the Albany Stakes (Gr3) for owners Con and Theresa Marnane and Maisons-Laffitte trainer Mathieu Palussière. Unsold £14,000 at Goffs Doncaster last year, the filly went to Ascot after winning at Lyon-Parilly for her debut and a confirmation at Angers. Her dam Danseuse Corse (Danehill Dancer) has won several times for leading French owner Jean-Claude Seroul in the South and then she went three times to the Deauville sales between February 2014 and December 2015. She was twice consigned in foal and made €6,500 when bearing Different League, the day Marc-Antoine Berghgracht-MAB Agency bought her at the 2014 Breeding Sale ... In 2016, Danseuse Corse gave a filly by Doctor Dino, born in Brittany and bred by Jean-Pierre Le Hegarat, owner of a mare that is probably worth far more than the €6,000 that he paid for her in December 2015 in Deauville!