Eric Raffin: Man of the Moment.

Eric Raffin is a familiar face in French trotting with top popularity ratings and consistent results on the track. This Saturday 6 February, the closing fixture of the Vincennes Winter Meeting is to take place and he will have his first race as the new official driver of Face Time Bourbon in the Prix de Sélection (G1). 

You have just won your 2nd Sulky d'or (the French drivers' title) for the second year in a row and will receive the award on Saturday. How will it be celebrated during this COVID period?

To sum up, I will be awarded the Sulky d'Or on Saturday from 6pm to 7pm at Vincennes without anyone present. What a strange time. I have the trophy, I'm happy but it will be no party, two or three photos and it will be done. Due to COVID, I took the first two-month vacation of my life in 2020 which was a forced holiday. After three weeks, I missed racing terribly. After the break, everything went well but I was a little apprehensive about not regaining my rhythm. I eventually had a good year but it was really unusual without the audience.

How does it feel to have the number 1 status in France?

Jean-Michel Bazire has slowed down, so the cards are being shuffled. He was unbeatable. He left room enough for someone and that someone… is me.  I will turn 40 years old this year and I have full confidence in myself. Of course, I question myself for every race because it is a profession where everything is called into question every half hour. I hope it will last: I am in the prime of life and I am in top physical shape. 

You will partner Face Time Bourbon Saturday in the Prix de Selection (G1) after the dismissal of Bjorn Goop: how do you prepare for this race ?

I've driven him twice with two wins, but always as a substitute driver. This time, I will be his official partner. It's going to be a lot of fun but there is some pressure. Honestly, I cannot do better than what has been done previously. I can only do worse!

Face Time Bourbon is a very gifted horse. What worries me a bit is that the last two times I've faced him, I've seen him pull a lot. I'll try to cool him off.

I think going to the beach (for training) put him under pressure, especially from trailing and then moving out to move up during the session to Billie de Montfort. These horses are like thoroughbreds, especially the offspring of Ready Cash (Face Time Bourbon), so you mustn't mess with them.

We have to be honest, he has the best chance of the race. I can be very relaxed, waiting until the very last moment, and maybe that will be good for him. I will try to calm him down and do everything in a relaxed manner. Am I going to take the risk of really waiting until the last minute? Only if there's a horse out ahead and maybe I can count on Frisbee d'Am to do that.

In addition to Face Time Bourbon, I have two other very good horses on Saturday at Vincennes with Hallix (Prix Louis le Bourg) and Freeman de Houelle (Prix Henri Desmontils), an excellent horse in mounted races.

Which are the horses that gave you the most satisfaction this winter?

Epsom of Herfraie (Jean-Michel Baudouin) and Hallix (Guillaume Gillot): what a meeting with them! I won 6 races with one and 5 with the other. I also won Group events and the Prix de France with Delia du Pommereux. She deserved to win a Group 1 and she did it in an incredible way. She is a mare that needs to be kept really quiet, she is very stressy. She is made for short distance races and everything has to go perfectly. She was well back in a sit and sprint position where Face Time Bourbon had set a quick pace and was feeling pressure in the home straight. It gave us a spectacular finish… and because of this race, here I am at Face Time's sulky!

You say you are at the top but you are also a man who enjoys challenges: what is Eric Raffin's next aim?

The first thing is a 3rd Sulky d'or. But I have set myself a real challenge: I would like to reach 4000 wins for my 40th birthday. So the deadline is November 24th and I still need 200 more success. My first victory was my second race when I was 16.

My second challenge is to beat Michel Lenoir's record for victories in the mounted races. The number to reach is 1235 and my score is 1179 on March 2nd.

And becoming a trainer, still out of sight?

I'll think about it if my kids ever tell me they want to work in the racing industry… but I'm not going to push them because I don't like routine and what I'm doing today is fine for me.