IN a turn-up for the books, the previously unbeaten filly Princess Popstar tasted defeat for the first time in her eightrace career when she lost the Trinidad Derby to another local bred Momentum, who completed Trinidad’s Triple Crown series of races yesterday at the Santa Rosa racetrack.

Starting as the 3-5 favourite, Princess Popstar, ridden for the second time by Wilmer Galviz, was asked to run from behind instead of her customary style of going in front and setting the fractions. She race in midpack for most of the race and when asked to run with four furlongs of the 10-furlong race left, she found herself in a totally unaccustomed position of chasing. Try as she may, Princess Popstar could not pull back the winner who won by three and a half lengths. The recorded splits of 24.1 x 51.1 x 1:17.0 x 1:38.0 were very slow. The winning time was 2:07.3 minutes.

Trainer John O’Brien, who saddled both the Triple Crown winner Momentum and Princess Popstar for the Derby quinella said after the race that the local Horse-of-the-Yyear had jumped badly and simply did not run in the early part of the race.

“The jockey told me afterwards that Princess Popstar was slowly out of the gates and simply did not pick up during the early furlongs and it was always going to be difficult after that,” the Triple Crown winning trainer said moments after his triumph.

Momentum, who was ridden by Brain Boodramsing, was bred by Everglades Farms and is by Western Classic — Sea Treaty.

Third in the event was Glorious Country. Eric Haughton, who is a local Hall of Fame inductee, is the groom of Momentum.