THE most eye-catching performance at Chantilly last Sunday was put up by Brametot in the Prix de Fontainebleau and the victory must have given Jean-Claude Rouget a little solace as part of his Pau stable is being ravaged by an equine virus.

Reappearing after a break of six months, Brametot appeared to have lost any chance when left flat-footed after the start.

However, his rider Cristian Demuro kept his cool and allowed the colt to bowl along in last place until moving closer to the pack at the entrance to the three-furlong straight. The pair then quickened on the outside, took the lead entering the final furlong and went on to comfortably defeat Stunning Spirit by two and a half lengths.

Brametot, named after a Normandy town, like so many of Gerard Augustin-Normand’s thoroughbreds, was winning a first group event. He was also following in the footsteps of his sire Rajsaman who won the Fontainebleau in 2010 and the race has also given him a first group success.

A more relaxed Rouget commented: “He did something special today and you have to switch him off during a race.

“Brametot’s win gave me a lot of pleasure as it’s been a tough week and he proved that the horses not in the quarantine barn are well. His target is the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and he will have more experience than most of his rivals. He must be held up for a late run.” Rouget also said that his problems during the past week led him to forget to declare the cheekpieces on Markazi who ran fourth.

Brametot was running for the fifth time and his previous best performance came when winning a listed race at Bordeaux. He is part-owned by Elisabeth Vidal, whose husband Sylvain runs the Haras de Cauviniere where the colt was raised and where Rajsaman stands.

Vidal bought the Fontainebleau winner as a foal for €26.000 at the Arqana December sales in 2014.