by Karsten Bønsdorf, USTA Senior Newsroom Correspondent

Hesiod, a 4-year-old sired by Explosive Matter, won the prestigious Grosser Preis von Deutschland at the Bahrenfeld track in Hamburg, Germany, on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 14).

Sold at the 2015 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale for $25,000 to Swedish/Finnish trainer Petri Salmela, Hesiod had Sweden’s leading driver, Ulf Ohlsson, in the bike and was in command the whole trip.

Named after an old Greek poet, Hesiod won the 1-3/8 mile event in 1.56 (mile rate) and was followed by another North American-bred trotter in Enterprise, who was driven by Carl Johan Jepson.

The purse for the winner was $87,000.

Hesiod, who was sent off at 13-1 on the tote board, won the last leg in the V75 wager organized by the Swedish betting company ATG. As just one handicapper selected the seven winners, he won a jackpot prize of 10 million Swedish Krona or $1.1 million in U.S. funds.

In other news, 8-year-old Aubrion du Gers, driven by Jean Michel Bazire, won his 10th straight in the Grand Prix du Sud Ouest in Bordeaux, France.

Aubrion du Gers picked up a check for $105,000, has now earned $2.4 million and has won 40 races from 64 starts.