by Karsten Bonsdorf, USTA web newsroom correspondent

The 10-year-old Swedish trotter Commander Crowe showed on Tuesday night (July 30) that he is still on top in the game, as he won the Aabergs Memorial at Jagersro.

Kanal 75 photo

Commander Crowe held off The Best Madrik in the Aabergs Memorial.

The Aabergs Memorial is an international trotting event raced over the mile with a purse for the winner of $150,000.

Some of the best trotters in Europe including Nahar, winner of the Elitlopp, Sebastian K, The Best Madrik, and Commander Crowe were in the start list.

Sebastian K was the favorite, but was never prominent during the race and finished unplaced. Nahar made a costly break after the first quarter and was disqualified and placed last.

Commander Crowe, with Ôrjan Kihlström in the bike, took an early command and was never threatened. He won easily in 1:53.4f followed by The Best Madrik with Jean Etienne Dubois, who enjoyed a pocket trip.

Commander Crowe is trained in France by Fabrice Souloy and last year the chestnut trotter had a banner year, winning nearly all the big races in Europe. He earned $1.75 million last year.

This year Commander Crowe has struggled to find the same form as last year, but on Tuesday he looked marvelous and won easily on a sloppy track.