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BANK ON GREATNESS AND VINDICTIVE FURY WORK FOR BABBLING BROOK HANDICAP*

Sarah and Marissa warmed their horses up on the dirt. Vinny was getting better and better behaved, and it seemed like she could take a six year old season at this point. They trotted a lap, then cantered another half lap. Horses around them played up, but the pair were seasoned now, and it didn't get a rise out of them. Moving into gallop, the riders considered the race they would face in a matter of days.

The Babbling Brook Handicap. The last race of the Senior Superstars Series. As winner of the first two legs, it seemed Vinny had every chance of winning all three. The competition was much the same as the first races. Mr Hat and Clogs would break from gate one. Formerly a Star Thoroughbreds horse, he hadn't won since June last year and didn't seem a threat. From gate two, TDI Live This Lie would start. He hadn't won since January, and like Mr Hat and Clogs, didn't seem much of a threat. G2 filly Mystical Melody would start from gate three. She had only started three times this year, and had last won a month ago. Vindictive Fury had beaten her the two times before that.

Again and again, Vindictive Fury was proving that some things get better with age. The mare was a stark contrast to how she had been three years ago, when most of her placings in races had been out of the top three. This year, the temperamental mare had won five of six races. The only one she hadn't won, she'd placed a close third in. Bank On Greatness, on the other hand, had always been pretty consistent. Last year a minor, but painful and almost undetectable injury had caused him a fair few losses, but he made up for it with more wins, seconds and thirds than fourths or worse. So far this year he'd raced for times, winning two and placing second in two.

The pair were now preparing for their fourth and seventh starts, respectively. They galloped along the dirt track strongly, ignoring the activity around them. Vindictive Fury, forever dominant of the lead, kept her nose ahead of Greatness. They rounded the turn, and both made their moves instantly as the home stretch straightened out before them. Neither got ahead of the other, until the final few metres. Vindictive Fury put on a final burst of speed and rocketed a half length ahead of Greatness.

Marissa's fist shot into the air and she grinned triumphantly. The Senior Superstars Series crown would be theirs.