2020 will remain as the year of confirmation for Eric Raffin (39).
Sacred Golden Sulky for the first time in his career in 2019 with 285 successes in harnessed trotting, the Vendée driver succeeded himself by achieving a particularly fruitful season (254 victories) despite confinement.
The past year was also a good year for him in Groups I (3 successes, including 2 harnessed with
Helgafell
) even if his score is far from that of 2014 (8 Groups I, including 3 on the harness, his records) .
Omnipresent in the pelotons, unlike his predecessor Jean-Michel Bazire, now in “semi-retirement” from the drive but still winner of 127 races in 2020, Eric Raffin seems at the top of his game.
He certainly hasn't finished lifting the most beautiful sulky but, to match JMB, he will have to remain No. 1 until… 2038.
Driver ranking in 2020
1
st
Eric Raffin - 254 victories
2
nd
Matthieu Abrivard - 179
3
e
Yoann Lebourgeois - 156
First Etrier d'or for Mathieu Mottier
Coming from one of the great families of trotting, Mathieu Mottier (28) achieves one of the big performances of the year by winning his first Etrier d'or, with the nose and beard of Alexandre Abrivard, holding it of the title also crowned in 2017, and Eric Raffin.
Recently, when we met him in Cabourg (Calvados), this versatile professional was almost struggling to find the words to describe his performance.
" It is enormous !
It is an immense pride!
“We want to believe it, because Mathieu Mottier had, until then, stumbled on the best.
Fourth in the Etrier d'Or in 2016 (44 victories) and fifth in 2017 (45), he completed the 2020 financial year with an increase of around 38% on the mounted trot.
He won two Groups I under the saddle this year with
Evangelina Blue
and
Gladys des Plaines,
and the best is perhaps to come thanks to the latter, which will be at the start of the Prix de Cornulier (January 24)….
Ranking of trotting jockeys in 2020
1
st
Mathieu Mottier - 72 victories
2
nd
Alexandre Abrivard - 61
3rd
Eric Raffin - 56
JMB bends over backwards
For the fourth year in a row, Jean-Michel Bazire is the No. 1 coach.
The rise of his team is confirmed since his students won 189 races in 2017, 208 in 2018, 217 in 2019 and 207 this year despite confinement.
Morning essentials newsletter
A tour of the news to start the day
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
Third tied with Thierry Duvaldestin, Laurent-Claude Abrivard appears for the first time on the podium of the best French coaches.
Ranking of trotting coaches in 2020
1st
Jean-Michel Bazire - 207
2nd Sébastien Guarato - 178
3
rd
Laurent-Claude Abrivard and Thierry Duvaldestin - 165
The same owners
As in 2019, Jean-Paul Marmion and the Charmes stable monopolize the first places among the owners (victories and gains), the Victoria Dreams team completing the podium, like a year ago.
Ranking of trotting owners in 2020
1st Jean-Paul Marmion - 110 successes
2nd Ecurie des Charmes - 88
3rd Victoria Dreams Stable - 69