by Karsten Bonsdorf, USTA web newsroom correspondent

The Finnish-bred 4-year-old trotter Brad de Veluwe (a son of Andover Hall) was an easy winner of the European Trotting Derby, the Grand Prix de l’UET, with a total purse of $450,000, raced Sunday afternoon (Sept. 23) at Gelsenkirchen in Germany.

Gerard Forni photo

Brad de Veluwe heads to the wire in the European Trotting Derby, the Grand Prix de l’UET.

The race was supposed to be a match between Brad de Veluwe and Unique Quick, the best 4-year-old trotter in France, but Brad de Veluwe seemed to be in a class of his own and won the 1-5/8th mile event handily in 1:58.4 (mile rate) followed by the Swedish mare Mermaid Aas and Up And Quick from France.

Unique Quick was parked outside Brad de Veluwe, but tired around the last bend and finished seventh.

This was another international highlight for Brad de Veluwe, who earlier had won prestigious races like the Gran Premio Orsi Mangelli, Ulf Thoresens Memorial and Sprintermästaran (the Swedish Hambletonian Stake).

In Italy, Orsia, a 4-year-old mare by Angus Hall, won her fourth Gran Premio race in a row, beating the boys in the GP Continentale at Bologne. The purse for the winner was $100,000.