The French racing expert who helped source top chaser Cyrname

Less than ten years have passed since the blue and pink-hooped silks of Cyrname's owner Johnny de la Hey first appeared in Britain.

In that time the fund manager has maintained his strict allegiance to the stable of Paul Nicholls, with his runners winning 56 races in 295 starts at a strikingly impressive 19 per cent clip.

Amazingly, all three of the owner's Grade 1 winners to date - Adrien Du Pont, Diego Du Charmil and this month's Ascot Chase hero Cyrname - were unearthed through talent-spotting duo Claude Charlet and Joffret Huet.

Coincidentally, all three were foaled within 13 days of each other during the 2012 breeding season, with first off the mark when winning the Prix du Brevent Hurdle at Enghien by two lengths in April 2015 for trainer Donatien Sourdeau de Beauregard.

"We offered Adrien Du Pont to Paul Nicholls after he won at Enghien," recalls Charlet, a familiar face from punditry on Racing TV. "He told us to get in touch directly with Johnny de la Hey and he bought the horse from us."

The French-bred son of Califet won two of his next three starts, culminating in success in the Grade 1 Future Champions Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow in January 2016.

Since then he has picked up a further three races including a valuable handicap chase at Kempton in December, and bids for further success in the Grade 3 888Sport Handicap Chase at Kempton on Saturday.

Adrien Du Pont jumps the final flight en route to victory in the Grade 1 Future Champions Finale Juvenile Hurdle at ChepstowCredit: Edward Whitaker

also caught the eye of Charlet and Huet at Enghien, when a close second in the Prix Verdi Hurdle in November 2015.

"We managed to purchase him after he finished second at Enghien and he became the owner's second Grade 1 winner at Aintree last year," says Charlet.

Diego Du Charmil was transferred from the yard of Arnaud Chaille-Chaille and won on his first start for Paul Nicholls when strongly fancied for the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at the 2016 Cheltenham Festival.

The son of Sadler's Wells stallion Ballingarry made his top-level breakthrough in the Maghull Novices' Chase at the Grand National meeting last April, and found only Altior too good in the Grade 2 Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton in December.

But the best was still to come.

Seeing a stride: Diego Du Charmil lets fly in last year's Maghull Novices' ChaseCredit: Edward Whitaker

, a son of Grade 1-winning chaser Nickname, accounted for his 16 AQPS rivals with ease on his third start in the Prix Al Capone II Hurdle at Pau in January 2016, easing clear by nine lengths at the finish.

"We purchased him after he won going away at Pau," recalls the British-based Charlet, who keeps up with French racing by watching it on TV.

"The way he won, we thought he'd be very special. The trainer had six or seven offers on the table straight away from bloodstock agents in Britain, Ireland and France.

"Cyrname seemed an easy horse to train, though he took time to get used to the British way of training with Paul. He's now the highest-rated chaser in Britain and has a mark three pounds higher than Altior.

"It's unbelievable - the first four horses we bought for Johnny all won and three are Grade 1 winners. The fourth is Favorito Buck's, a Listed hurdle winner in France who has won three races for Paul, including a handicap chase at Ascot in November.

"We've been very lucky but I believe the harder you work, the luckier you become."

Claude Charlet (left) with CyrnameCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Cyrname was trained in the earlier part of his career by Patrice Quinton, the Ecurie des Dunes owner who is best known for his runners' exploits in cross-country chases.

"Patrice is a good friend of ours," says Charlet, who also sourced horses for David Johnson and Terry Warner, including the Cesarewitch winner Big Easy for the latter.

"He takes his time with his horses and lets them progress at six, seven and eight. He's extremely successful at targeting cross-country races.

"Joffret is a good judge of a horse and watches the racing live in France. We make a good team, and he knows what we're looking for. Johnny is also a patient owner and that helps. We try to buy quality horses - we want them to win the top races.

"We look at maybe 60 three-year-olds each year at the end of March or beginning of April. We see them schooling in the mornings with trainers like Francois Nicolle, Arnaud Chaille-Chaille and Guillaume Macaire.

"We pick up different information about them including their breeding. We don't just look at how they win their races - we follow them all the way along and hopefully are there to buy them when they win their races."

Remarkably, Charlet and Huet are on the cusp of unearthing a fourth Grade 1 winner for De La Hey with , who is quoted at near single-figure odds for the JCB Triumph Hurdle in March, on what will be his first start for Nicholls.

The four-year-old son of Turgeon already has Grade 1 form in the book having finished second to Beaumec De Houelle, who recently replaced his sire Martaline on the roster at Haras de Montaigu, in the Prix Cambaceres Hurdle. He looks to hold a live chance for what is proving to be a red-hot combination.

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