Rapt in attention
As the pace car quickens
Horses score up behind
Like a phalanx
Seven off the front
And five behind
Makes a full field of twelve

Drivers in formation -
Now bursting off the arm
To settle down at speed
In two neat rows

The first sectional is fast - 27.6 seconds
And they are going like last weeks pay out there!
Back markers get busy and the field has already
Covered 600 yards

The driver in front plays on the reins
In an attempt to slow down the field
Only to hear a three wide train -
All flashing silks and thundering hooves
Now rushing around his outside

Eight hundred meters are gone
And the're already three wide-
Has the favorite gone all too soon?
At six to four on she makes a bid for the top
Only to land in the breeze

Another fast split 29.2 seconds
(Only slightly slower again)
They burst past the post
And out rings the bell-
Another fast lap now to come

At the burst of the bell
Horses quicken their feet
And drivers lean back in their gigs

Number one she still leads
Flashing silks gold and green -
Will she be an Emerald City girl tonight?

The driver leans back harder
To slow down the field
And succeeds in a 30.9 second split

The mare gets a breather -
But now they come faster
Rushing three
And now four horses wide

The home turn approaches
And they all fan out
To each get a shot at the post
The crowds on its feet screaming and cheering
For the tough little mare to get beat

The favorites now gone
(Loud swearing beside me)
But still the game mare just hangs on
They flash past the post
And I can see now shes lasted
To get up at forty to one!


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