by Kate Manning

Created on: July 30, 2008

The Racehorse.

My mother always told me,
How I would be a star,
She taught me how to used my strength
So I could win by far

I started in a round pen
Fore a man climbed on my back.
Walking, trotting, canter -
Then out on to a track.

I soon began to love the feel
Of a rider's guiding hand,
We galloped, flying with the wind
Hooves barely touching land.

My muscles soon toned and rippled

My energy bursting through
My veins seared, my heart it jumped
A race was finally due

A thousand eyes were watching me
And the odds were on the board
In the paddock, Trainers, Owners
Jockey jumps aboard.

With the pony, onto the course,
To the start behind the gates.
A push behind, a pull in front
Now enclosed, I only wait.

Standing, tense, pawing the ground
Gates open at the sound of the bell.
Horses surge with heart and soul
As riders holler and yell

Before I know it we're rounding the first
My hooves just pounding the earth,
Switching my leads and twitching my ears
I run for all I am worth.

The announcer calls, "And here they come"
As we round the clubhouse turn.
Whips are flicking, my jockey is kicking
My desire continues to burn.

Across the wire, I've won by a length!
To the winner's circle I'm led.
My thoughts drift - back to my mother's words,
And my career that lies ahead

More races follow and so do more wins,
But a second and third as well.
My three year old year is looming fast
Tensions beginning to tell

May the 5th - it's Derby Day,
Trained, Im raring to go!
Nineteen other roaring lungs,
But they were all too slow!

I Ran for the Roses, best as I could
Alas! I won by a mile!
The second leg of the Triple Crown
Was only a short while

Two weeks later, here it was
The wonderful Preakness Stakes,
I was favorite, round the Pimlico Course
And, yes, I had what it takes!

My name was famous all over the world,
The Triple Crown in my sights,
The Belmont at Belmont, New York, New York!
And I fought with all my might.

Affirmed, Seattle Slew, Secretariat,
The most recent three,
To defy the odds and win the crown,
To make history.

But I got tired running a mile and a half,
I thought I was beginning to lack.
The final furlong, I was behind by a neck
But a sudden feeling made me fight back.

I was told I was going to be a star -
I was going to prove her right.
Thunder in my hooves and lightning in my heart
The photo-finish was tight.

I won by a whisker, the breadth of a hair!
I'm now a historical horse!
I was ten foot tall and bullet proof
As they led me off the course!

More races followed, but not as much
They were saving me for the best,
The Breeders Cup Classic, on the dirt
I won by far, I beat the rest!

A four year old Champion, I retired,
Turned out to grass and sun
My racing years were over, but
Stud duties had just begun!

I was shipped out to another farm,
Of acres green and vast,
A hundred horses scattered, grazing,
I was home at last!

One summers day while out at grass,
I saw a familiar mare
My Mother saw and nickered to me -
The colt she raised with care!

I smiled when from behind her,
All shy and trying to hide,
Four tiny hooves, a velvet muzzle,
A foal by her side!

I knew my Mother would tell him,
How he would be a star.
She'd teach him how to use his strength
So he could win by far

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