Malabar Man met his match in Saturday’s $565,000 World Trotting Derby at the DuQuoin State Fair and was forced to surrender to Lord Stormont.
After finishing second behind Malabar Man–North America’s top-ranked standardbred–in the opening heat, Lord Stormont reversed the order of finish in the second heat and then won the match race that determined the victor.
In the final, Lord Stormont had the inside post position. Driver Doug Brown put him on the lead and Malabar Man couldn’t catch him.
“I tried to go slow early,” Brown said after traveling the opening quarter in 32 3/5 seconds and the half in 1:05 2/5. “Malabar Man is stronger than my horse, but I think mine is faster. I knew I could outsprint him in the stretch.”
Lord Stormont trotted the final quarter in :25 4/5 and won by 1 3/4 lengths.
“That has to be the fastest last quarter I have ever seen,” said Jimmy Takter, who trains Malabar Man for Malvern Burroughs, the horse’s owner-breeder and amateur driver.
Lord Stormont’s final time was 1:53 2/5 and he paid $3.40 as the 7-10 second choice in the final.
In the second heat, Burroughs had Malabar Man hugging the rail, but he drifted out in the stretch and Brown took Lord Stormont through the hole and won by a half-length. Malabar Man defeated Lord Stormont by three-quarters of a length in the first heat.
