The Melbourne Cup Heist

The plan was as ingenious as it was devious
Yet there was one fatal flaw -
No-one suspected that there lurked
A traitor in their midst.

An undercover officer,
With years under her belt
And a solid understanding
Of the workings of the criminal mind.

Our hero had infiltrated,
Much to her colleagues surprise,
The most wanted group of low life scum
To ever grace a racing track.

Given the sorts of characters
Who frequent those types of places
It was no stretch of the imagination
To come up with these diabolical sorts.

And here they were before her.
And here she was with them.
Completely unnoticed
And holding all the cards.

She listened intently to conversations
And recorded every word.
The beauty of the saddle was
It hid a multitude of sins.

Well, only sins to them.
They would never understand the betrayal
But society would thank her
For the job she did unknown.

The discussion had been centred
Around that fateful Melbourne day
And the money that would be made
By such nefarious means.

A plan was afoot, alright,
To steal the cup away
And to take the winning loot
Without raising a cultured eyebrow.

The crop was swapped under the cover of dark,
The poor jockey completely unaware
Of the dastardly deed prepared
Which was to turn him into a killer.

The bets were laid far and wide
So as to not arouse suspicion.
The cumulative effect was such
That this crime would break the bank.

The racing began in earnest,
Each more important than the last,
Until that fateful race was called
To take their places for the run.

The jockeys took to their mounts,
The horses led, one by one,
To their predetermined gate
And locked in as per usual.

A hush came over the crowd
As they waited for the start
But what happened next was not expected
And was the cause of much consternation.

One of the horses broke free of it's gate.
The jockey was taken much by surprise.
The horse turned to face the others.
Was that a smile that now appeared?

A murmur went through the crowd,
Have you ever seen such a thing?
Then a collective gasp was heard
As the horse revealed himself.

For that Masked Marvel was none other
Than the brave and dutiful officer;
The name should have been a giveaway
but no-one could have guessed.