THE CHAMPIONS

Nevertheless, he progressively stepped up, bagging the Prix du Luxembourg as a 6yo, followed by the Elite Rennen, before taking 3rd spot in the Elitloppet. At 7, he finished close 3rd to Ina Scot and Vourasie in the Prix d’ Amérique. Not long after that, Jos Verbeeck took over in the bike, and the pair lifted the Prix d'Europe, Prix d'Eté and the Grand Prix de Bavière before finishing runner-up to Coktail Jet in the Prix d’Amérique at 8 and subsequentlygoing on to land the Prix de Paris. His crowning moment was to come the year after in the 1997 Prix d’Amérique when he scored wire-to-wire ahead of Capitole and Défi d'Aunou, making it a first win in the prestigious event for the Albert Viel silks.

A powerful sort who had a sustained turn of foot and could launch his challenge from a long way out, Abo Volo 1'11'' had a remarkable career as an older horse. Owner-breeder Albert Viel commented: "He's the best trotter I ever had because he was very versatile. Whenever his driver made a decisive move and decided to let out the reins, he would simply leave his opponents behind him."

Son of a 22yo sire and dam (Boum III and Belle de Jour III), Bellino II didn’t especially shine on his first two harness bids before travelling up to Vincennes and beating the best of his 3yo promotion under saddle in the Prix Raoul Ballière. From there onwards, the powerhouse dominated his generation in the discipline. He lifted all the mounted classics with René Fabre up (Prix de Vincennes, Prix du Président de la République, de Normandie, des Elites), as well as finishing 3rd in the Critérium des 5 ans. He was trained by René Sala who he really pampered him, walking him for hours at a time at home.

After scooping the Cornulier at 6, driver Jean René Gougeon took over on Bellino II in the sulky at 7, beating US champion Timothy T in the European Championship at Vincennes. It was to be the start of a new career for the 'steam-roller', his nickname evoking the way he flattened his rivals. Jean René Gougeon and Bellino II scored 3 Prix d'Amériques at 8, 9 and 10 during Vincennes' 1975-1976 winter festival, achieving the amazing feat of bagging consecutive wins in the Prix de l'Ile de France, Prix de Cornulier, Prix d’Amérique, Prix de France and Prix de Paris. "You'll never see that again,"Jean René Gougeon commented. "There were no tactics with Bellino. I set off at full speed and finished at full speed. He was incredibly tough with tons of stamina. At home, I was always a bit concerned when he did a piece of work trotting a slow 1'30''/km, but he was totally transformedin the afternoon at the track, a real fighter."

He went on to drive her to victory another six times before leasing her to Mme Bancilhonat 5. A capricious sort who was difficult at the start, the mare blossomed at Jonel Chyriacos' yard, and the pair lifted the 1952 Prix d’Amérique inspite of a bad start (beating Cyrano II and Chambon), twoPrix de Paris, the Grand Prix des Nations and the Grand Prix de la Foire in Italy. Chyriaco seven took her to Roosevelt Raceway as a 6yo, but Cancannière fell lame in the race and could only manage 7th spot.

Extremely popular, Vincennes racegoers nicknamed the mare 'Cancan'. Daughter of Kankan II (Quo Vadis), Cancannière 1'19'' was a beautiful chestnut filly who was more powerfully built than Uranie. She was a great finisher, brave and had a long racing career, entering stud at 10 years old. Covered by Dubonnet, she foaled two smart performers in the shape of Nautilus G 1'19'' (Critérium des 4 ans) who died prematurely, and Quirinus III 1'18'' (3rd in the Critérium des 5 ans) who notably sired the elegant mare Khali de Vrie 1'14'' (Critérium Continental).

The bay colt was average-sized (1.60 m), as long as tall, but was unable to run as a 2yo because of a knee problem. As he entered his fourth year, he finished a strong-finishing runner-up in the Prix de Sélection, then was 3rdbehind his elderSea Cove in the Prix René Ballière the same year. Jean Etienne Dubois liked to hold him up because "Coktail Jet had a fabulous turn of foot," he explained.

The pair lifted the Critérium des 5 ans, then notably the 1996 Elitloppet at 6 where he bagged a sensational win after sitting in last place until he produced a tremendous turn of foot off the final bend to beat Zoogin close home. Contrastingly, through lack of pace, Jean Etienne Dubois hit the front much earlier on when capturing the 1996 Prix d’Amériquea few months before, making it a first win in the Big Event for Daniel Wildenstein's silks.

Trained by Marcel Gougeon, Fandango 1'20''(m) was ridden by his youngest son Michel Gougeon and driven by his eldest son Jean René Gougeon. While he won the Critérium des 3 ans with Jean René Gougeon, Fandango notched up no less than 38 consecutive wins with Michel Gougeon under saddle (February 2, 1952 to September 11, 1954), including all the 3, 4 and 5yo classics, from the Prix de Vincennes to the Prix de Normandie, not forgetting the Prix du Président de la République, Prix des Elites, Prix des Centaures etc. And he is still the only trotter to have landed the Prix de Cornulier at 4! "He really made me daydream," Jean-Pierre Dubois said later.

"Fandango was only 1.60 m tall, but he was handsome with a fine build and a magnificent head. He was a true mounted performer who had a lot of pace and stamina. I unleashed my run in the uphill section because we often had to concede a handicap, even 75 metres once. The problem was he often suffered from sand-cracks, recalled Michel Gougeon. At stud, Fandango turned out to be an excellent sire both in France (along with Pacha Grandchamp, Paléo, Quérido II and Valmont) and in Sweden (Tibur), as well as a decent sire of dams (e.g. Abo Volo’s).

So Gosselin decided to put Fuchsia into training, and he ended up winning 17 times in 20 outings under saddle, exhibitingan extremely fluent gait. Turning down an American offer of 33,000 Francs, Mr Gosselin preferred that his horse remain in France, so sold him to the French National Stud for 11,000 Francs. The malewas leading stallion 14 times in a row, siring 389 offspring, including top sire Bémécourt (himself a 10-time leading stallion). Fuchsia established a remarkable male bloodline, pursued notably by his grandson Intermède, who in turn sired champion mare Uranie 1’22’’ (3 Prix d'Amériques) and his great grandson Hernani III 1'24'' (grandsire of another taproot sire, Kerjacques 1'19'').The bloodline is still alive today through Kerjacques' descendants, with, for example,2-time Cornulier-winner Roxane Griff.

Fuchsia was grandson of a thoroughbred mare through his mother Rêveuse, and great grandson of a US mare (Lady Pierce) through hispaternal bloodline.In his book 'Le Trotteur Français', Albert Viel wrote: "The colt had an exceptional gait(…).The Normandy/Norfolk/American-thoroughbredcrossbreeding had quite simply resulted inan phenomenon."

Gradually, Gélinotte did settle, though she tended to trot like an ambler, and landed the Critérium des 4 ans and the Critérium Continental with Mills, but was not easy at the start. She landed 11 consecutive wins before finishing runner up to stable companionFortunato II at 5 in the Prix d’Amérique, but easily won the Big Race a year later at 6, and again at 7 with a 25 metre handicap. And she still is the only trotter to have achieved the Prix d’Amérique-Prix de France-Prix de Paris treble. But Gélinotte 1'16'' also triumphed throughout Europe with impressive wins in Italy (Grand Prix des Nations), Sweden (2 Elitloppets), Germany etc. As she often travelled by train, she was nicknamed the "Madonna of sleeping cars". Her master Charlie Mills said of her: "In the beginning, she caused me a few concerns. I had to exercise her two, three, sometimes four times a day, but not fast work. She gained confidence and that settledher (…). Gélinotte was the best trotter I have ever trained and driven." At stud, she notably foaled Ura 1'18'' who became a decent sire.

"He was so small that I said to myself it was pointless listing him in the yearling sales book. But he was already a lively sort in spite of his young age," Pichon explains. He sold half to his friend Jacky Grisanti and they both decided to send the colt to Jules Lepennetier's yard. Destiny was underway.

Only just qualified in 1'24''1, Général du Pommeau (1.58 m) revealed his full potential when he finally raced.He constantly progressed and lifted the Critérium des Jeunes wire to wire.He went offstride and was disqualified in the Criterium des 3 Ans when he was suffering from a leg problem, so he subsequently underwent surgery and reappeared at the end of the winter as stronger as ever.The following spring he beat Gavroche Perrine in the Critérium des 4 ans, then bagged the Critérium Continental and the Criterium des 5 ans. Possessing an exceptional turn of foot, he pipped Remington Crown on the line in the Prix René Ballière and scored a sensational win in the Prix d’Amérique at 6 where he was barefoot on all four and literally took off in the home straight (1’12’’6/km, 2700m). Abroad, he captured the Grand Prix d’Abyand finished a close second to Victory Tilly in the Elitloppet, matching strides with classy horses such as Varenne and Fan Idole. Furthermore, his Prix d’Amérique stats are particularly eloquent, as Général du Pommeau 1'10'' achieved the feat of finishing five times in the first five (1st in 2000, 2nd in 2002, 3rd in 2001, 4th in 2003 and5th in 2004 aged 10). Jules Lepennetier would often say:"It's really quite something to have had one like him."

Idéal du Gazeau was such a natural trotter that he quickly became the racegoers' favourite at Vincennes where he went on to achieve the rare feat of lifting three other Critériums (Critériumdes 4 ans, des 5 ans and the Continental)."He didn't need any weights or special tack, he could cover 500 m in 1'07'' at home and that was 40 years ago. His only pleasure was trotting fast!" his trainer related. He dominated a generation where a rival of Ianthin's stature was runner-up. Considering his exceptional speed, the small brown-bay horse also shone on flat tracks throughout the world. He won notably in Sweden (2 Elitloppets) and in the US (3 World Championships). The pair also landed two Prix d’Amériques (1981 ahead of Jorky, 1983 ahead of Lurabo). At that time his popularity was at its height and thanks to him, everyone knew about the beach at Saint Jean le Thomas where his groom Marcel Hernot often walked him.

While Eugène Lefèvre was nicknamed 'Gégéne' by the French public, Idéal du Gazeau 1'13'' was known as 'little man'.The trotter was sold in Sweden as a stallion at the end of his racing career and sired a few smart performers such as Prix d’Amérique runner-up Lovely Godiva.

He was gifted as a young horse but often broke, but nevertheless capturedthe Prix Ariste Hémard and Prix Octave Douesnel with his trainer-driver Christophe Gallier. "The horse really matured and was physically transformed when he was six," explains his handler.So he was a late developer but did have an exceptional engine, including unsuspected speed. Jag de Bellouet was to become an extremely tough champion, one of the rare trotters capable of winning uncovered on the outside at Vincennes. In the same manner, he lifted the 2005 Prix d’Amériqueaged eight ahead of Gigant Neo, as well as the Prix René Ballière (beating Love You) and no less than 3 Prix de Cornuliers (with Matthieu Abrivard up), not forgetting the Prix de France.He often ran barefoot on all four.

After winning the 2006 Prix d’Amérique, Jag de Bellouet 1'09'' was subsequently disqualified because he was tested positive, having ingested a contaminated food supplement. Today he has endorsed himself as a fine stallion having sired a number of classy trotters such as Opus Viervil, Vittel de Brévol, Vulcain de Vandel and Very Nice Marceaux.

During the summer of her three-year-old campaign she showed a lot of class when winning the Prix de l’Etoile. He became the new leader of his generation at four, capturing the Critérium des 4 and the Critérium Continental. As a five-year-old he stepped up yet again by easily dominating Jariolain in the 1958 Prix d’Amérique. Conceding a 25 m handicap, with Jean Riaud still in the sulky, he followed up in the 1959 edition, but could only manage third spot in 1960 when conceding 50 m with Gerhard Kruger in the bike. But as a six-year-old, Jamin was above all trotting's first US World Championship winner (dominating Tornese), before going on to beat the locals in the American Trotting Championship. He still is the only French Trotter to have won this event.

He stayed in the US and became a real star there and even made the front page of 'Sports Illustrated', winning at Hollywood Park. Endowed with a big action, Jamin 1'13'' seemed as if he glided on the track, and his particular style led to the Americans nicknaming him 'death's creeping’. As artisan of all his wins, Jean Riaud described Jamin as "big (1.69 m), thoroughbred-like, with nice fabric and big shoulders. He had a lot of energy but was settled when he raced. Apart from his immense class, he had a lot of courage too."

Kerjacques was foaled in 1954 at Louis Dubu’s stud in the Orne. Son of mounted champion Quinio 1'25''(Hernani III) and out of the tiny Arlette III (who was also mother of champion trotter Seddouk) he proved his worth at classic level when he was four at Bernard Simonard's yard, finishing third in the Critérium des 4 ans and runner-up in the Critérium Continental. At 5, he did even better by landing the Critérium des 5 ans, then concluding runner-up in the Prix de Normandie on his mounted debut.

Of an average build, he was a powerful chestnut horse who had an expressive head, but was subject to muscular disorders. "He ‘windmilled' when he trotted like many of Quinio's offspring. Yes, he was a bit of a stepper and had poor feet, but possessed a lot of speed. When my bother-in-law Georges Dreux did a piece of work with him one day, he told me "He's a funny one, the little'n"" recalls Roger Baudron.

A brave trotter, Kerjacqueswas acquired by the French National Stud in 1960 for 150,000 French francs, but was not greatly sought after when he first went to studwith acover fee of 300 francs. But he soon endorsed himself as an exceptional stallion, siring the likes of Toscan, Une de Mai, Bill D, Cette Histoire, Eleazar, Jorky and Chambon P (his best offspring at stud). His progeny are reputed for their toughness ("You would have had to kill them before they said no," affirmed Léopold Verroken).

She soon made up for lost time, finishing third in the Critérium des 4 ansafter being hampered at the start. Gifted in both disciplines, she easily won the Prix du Président de la République just after with François Brohier up. The jockey led her to victory at five in the Prix de Cornulier and Prix d’Amérique (ahead of Tornese and Jocrisse). Masina is still the only female to have achieved the Cornulier-Amérique double the same year.

A powerful sort who has a bit slow at the start but had an impressive finish, Masina 1'16'' easily stood out with her yellow hood and was well-liked by the Vincennes crowd. At 6, she managed to concede a 50m handicap to Ozoin the Prix de Sélection, having previously finished runner-up to Newstar in the Prix d’Amérique (with a 25 m handicap), and landing the Prix de France and Prix de Paris. François Brohier, her partner since debut, recalled:"She needed time to pick up her action, but as soon as I launched her at the top of the uphill section she just kept on sprinting without flagging." After examining her, professor and vet Noel Marcenac declared:"Masina has a heart with slow but strong beat, and is endowed with an engine like a Rolls-Royce !"

So after debuting with Raoul Ostheimer (born deaf and hard-of-hearing), Jean René Gougeon took over as driver and the pair landed the Critérium des Jeunes. After a disappointing 4yo campaign, the trotter joined Jean René Gougeon's yard on the eve of the 1984-1985 Vincennes winter festival (Philippe Renouf was now his lad). Ourasi didn't take long to display his full potential, capturing, amongst others, the Critérium des 5 ans and his first Prix d’Amérique at six (ahead of Mon Tourbillon). He remained unbeaten as a 6yo, notching up 22 consecutive wins up to the age of seven.

Jean René Gougeon realised his charge had a particular mindset, stating: "I had to be easy on him withoutbeing too forceful. If I had been, I'm sure he would have gone sour. Ourasi wanted to be the boss everywhere, both on and off the track. Sometimes it seemed like he had no gas left in the tank, but took up the bridle again on his own." Nicknamed ‘the lazy king’, Ourasi made a name for himselfworldwide. Racing until the maximum 10yo age limit, he is the only trotter to have landed 4 Prix d’Amériques. He became a household name.

Ourasi 1'11'' bowed out in 1989 when capturing his 4th Prix d’Amérique at 10. He died in January 2013 aged 33 and will live on in the memories of trotting fans thanks to his statue which stands today at Vincennes.

At that time, she notched up four consecutive wins four Sundays in a row between November 14thand December 12th, 1961, switching between mounted and harness events, before coming unstuck in the Critérium des 3 ans(3rd) after slightly going offstridein the final turnwhere she looked like a potential winner. Nonetheless, she subsequently made amends in the Prix de Vincennes.

As a 4yo, she often went offstride, but managed to land, amongst others, the Prix du Président de la République. At the same age, she also crossed the Atlanticto triumph in the Transoenic Trot at New York with Gerhard Kruger. At four, she remains one of the rare French trotters to have beaten the Americans at home. Then at five, she won the Prix d’Amérique wire to wire with her owner-trainer Roger Massue a head of Oscar R L. She followed up in the Prix d’Amérique as a 7yowith Johannes Fromming. But she remained inconsistent, giving her supporters a hard time. Indeed, Ozo 1'15'', a magnificent black mare who trotted with her own specificstyle with her tail in the air, really did have a lot of fans –her connections even received letters addressed to 'Mlle Ozo, Vincennes, France' ! She died aged 8 following surgery when a tumour was found on her left ovary. The mare must have been suffering from it for some time, and maybe that explained why she wasn’t always consistent.

Sent to co-owner and trainer Philippe Allaire, Ready Cash, who was headstrong, rapidly displayed great potential, debuting with a win as a 2yo before notching up a number of others, notably the Critérium des Jeunes and the Critérium des 3 ans with Bernard Piton in the bike (15 wins in his first 17 career starts.)

After a season at stud as a 4yo, Ready Cash had trouble getting back into gear although winning a few races, so during the summer of his 5yo campaign, Philippe Allaire sent him to Thierry Duvaldestin’s yard. "He's out of sync, but not cooked !" was his verdict. Duvaldestin managed to get him back on the rails, scoring a brilliant win in the 2011 Prix d’Amérique at six, where driver Franck Nivard unleased his run in the straight after travelling on the outside of Swedish champion Maharajah. The following winter he lifted a second Prix d’Amérique after being held up, beating Roxane Griff and The Best Madrik. Nevertheless, Ready Cash always needed a bit of weight on his forelegs and could never run barefoot. In the 2013 Prix d’Amérique he went slightly offstride after travelling well and looking a potential winner, but nevertheless managed second spot behind Royal Dream. Now standing at stud, this handsome and distinguished-looking stallion is turning out to be a great sire.

He continued improving at five, lifting the Critérium des 5 ans with Yves Dreux, who was his regular driver throughout his career.

Lightly-raced as a juvenile by his trainer and co-owner Bernard Desmontils, Rêve d’Udon was a magnificent bay horse who was very smart in both disciplines. He went on to bag the Prix de Cornulier at six(ahead of Reine du Corta) and shone in harness events at the highest level (runner-up in the 1991 Prix d’Amérique), beating notably American champion Napoletonoin the 1989 Prix René Ballière where he revealed his natural speed. Capable of launching a challenge from a long way out, Rêve d’Udon 1'12'' also crossed the Atlantic to win the US World Championship, providing a gutsy performance travelling on the outside of the leader on a small 800-metre track. In Europe, he scored in Germany and Sweden (Elite Rennen, Grand Prix d’Aby).

At stud, he sired Swedish Champion Revenue who in turn sired Hambletonian winner Market Share - a very rare, if not unique, feat for a trotter with French male bloodlines.

As a four-year-old she really blossomed, becoming leader of her generation by landing the Critérium des 4 ans and the Critérium Continental.She stepped up again the following year when landing the 1965 Prix d’Amérique at five ahead of US champion Elma. Roquépine then went on to become the world’s best trotter, winning not just everywhere in Europe, but also lifting two World Championships in the United States. In France, she lifted three Prix d’Amériques (two with Jean René Gougeon and one with Henri Levesque), as well as two Elitloppets in Sweden and the Grand Prix de la Loterie in Italy, i.e. Europe's three biggest harness events.

A very genuine mare who was both tough and fast, Roquépine shone on types of track and over all distances. But she needed weight on her shoes to keep an even balance and could go offstride for as little as 20 g. At stud she foaled only for products before dying at 14, amongst themFlorestan (by US taproot sire Star's Pride) who became an excellent stallion and sire of dams in France.

Sired by classic winner Le Loir (Chambon P) in his first season at stud, and bred by Bernard and Jeannine Halloppé, Ténor de Baune was foaled in 1985 in the Maine et Loire, out of a daughter by Pacha Grandchamp. He wasn't a very attractive chestnut colt, but when he went into training, as a 2yo he proved he had potential. Later, handler Jean Baptiste Bossuet said: "Tenor's greatest quality was his will to win. Of course he had speed, but no more than any other."

So when he raced, Ténor de Baune 1'14'' would never let go when he set the pace. He liked to go off in front and dominate his rivals, "always finding more when someone came upsides to challenge," according to his trainer. Before the Prix d’Amérique he had bagged all three Critériums (4yo, 5yo, Critérium Continental) and the Prix de l’Etoile. Unfortunately, after his 30th consecutive win, he had some setbacks and had to step down from his pedestal as no vet managed to detect what the problem was. "He was unsettled, lost his fluency and was suffering from something," declared Bossuet.

He subsequently became a good stallion, notablysiring Roxane Griff (Prix de Cornulier, twice), Fleuron Perrine (Critériums des 3, 4 et 5 ans) and Gavroche Perrine (Critérium des 3 ans).

At the beginning of his career Tidalium Pélo went practically unnoticed, and it was not until teaming up with Jean Mary in the Prix du Président de la République that he really began to make a name for himself. That day he finished runner-up to Tabriz. Jean Mary then took over as trainer and Tidalium Pélo continued stepping up in both disciplines, the pair triumphing twice in thePrix de Cornulier (1970-1972) and twice in the Prix d’Amérique (1971-1972).

When he lifted his second Prix de Cornulier,he left his younger challenger Bellino II a good length behind him, and in the 1971 Prix d’Amérique he easily dominated Vanina B and Une de Mai, which really underlined his class. Abroad, Tidalium Pélo was just as sensational when scoring in the Elitloppet (ahead of Dart Hanover and Une de Mai) as well as in the Prix des Meilleurs.

Unfortunately, he had problems with his legs which kept him off the track, sometimes for long periods. Nicknamed the ‘black devil’ he remains one of the most formidable trotters Vincennes has ever seen, where on one occasion he almost managed to concede a 50 m handicap to Toscan in the Prix de Paris after losing ground at the start!

He was drawn to Une de Mai "because in spite of being knock-kneed she trotted thanks to her exceptionally strong shoulders," so acquired the chestnut filly from Michel Lemelletier along with some other horses. He won at Vincennes with her and then sold half to the Count de Montesson. An unsettled mare, she was sent to Jean René Gougeon’s yard (where Jean Lou Peupion was her lad)and remained unbeaten during the 1967-1968 winter meeting where she landed the Critérium des 3 ans and the Prix de Vincennes.

It was a prelude to a great international career. Une de Mai 1'13'' won the Grand Prix de la Loterie in Italy three times and two World Championships in the US, scoring also in Germany, Holland, Sweden and Canada. In France, she landed the Critérium de Vitesse at Cagnes sur Mer five times, as well as the Prix de France, Prix de Paris etc.,even if she didn’t manage to win the Prix d’Amérique, a race she finished runner-up in in 1969 and third in 1971. Her best win for Jean René Gougeon was her first victory in the world championship at New York where she beat American champion Nevele Pride: "I attacked him several times during the race, something that no one had ever dared to do up to then. If I had to do another world tour, I would choose Une de Mai amongst all the champions I have driven, because she was the most versatile."

Lightly-built and a bit unsettled, she had a high action when she trotted."She reminded me of Corrida (dual Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner)," recalls Alec Head. Uranie turned out to be very susceptible when she raced (notably at the start)and didn't eat very well either (no more than four litres of oats per day), but did sleep a lot.Through patience, her trainer driver Valentino Capovilla managed to get the best out of her. Uranie thus became the best European trotter, landing three Prix d’Amérique (1926-1927-1928) and scoring a win in Italy in the European Championship. Conceding a 50 m handicap in 1929 in the Prix d'Amérique,she went offstride at the start, increasing her handicap by a further 50 m. She nevertheless made up the lost ground and was fighting for victory when she broke on the post. When she was ten she finished runner-up to Amazone B in her final Prix d’Amérique where she had to concede a 75 m handicap.

She had such a fluent style that she became an idol. Uranie 1'22'' drew the crowds at Vincennes and elsewhere. "She had wings," said Valention's son Mario Capovilla, who was a driver himself. At stud, Uranie made her mark on the 'Trotteur Français' breed through her sons Kairos (who sired champion mare Gélinotte) and Ogaden.