KEY POINTS:
Chris Lang believes everything has turned to bronze for him leading into tomorrow night's A$200,000 ($225,000) Interdominion Trotting final.
If you think the appropriate saying is that everything has turned to gold, well, Lang knows that, but he is trying to be realistic.
Lang, a member of Australian harness racing's first family, will line up Jauriol and Flying Hardwick in the trot final and says the pair could not have had a better week.
They both shone by their standards with placings in the final heat of the series last Saturday and then drew wide on the front line for the final.
And then Lang's brother, freakish driver Gavin, agreed to drive Jauriol over race rival Viva La Fever.
So put all that together and Lang believes he may just have the horse power to sneak into that bronze medal- bearing third place.
"I'd love to be going there thinking I was going to win but I don't think I am," said Lang.
"I have been doing this long enough to know a really good trotter when I see one and A Touch Of Flair is a very good trotter.
"And then you have the two Kiwis [Glenbogle and Whatsundermykilt] who are also top horses, so you have three horses in there who are better than my pair.
"So if everything pans out as it should in the final they really should trifecta the race. But, of course, luck comes into it and because my two are off the front I think maybe Flying Hardwick can sneak third."
That sort of realism stems from the fact Lang has been around great trotters all his life, with his father Graeme and brother having won five Interdominion Trotting finals between them.
"The trotting finals tend to be won by the best horses because luck is less of a factor than in the big pacing races.
"And that should be the case this week because A Touch Of Flair is faster than the other horses here and appears to be at his peak.
"But I think Flying Hardwick might be able to win a race like this in a year or two so this is all good experience for him."
With the big three so dominant, there has been little in the way of market moves since the draw came out on Tuesday, with A Touch Of Flair hovering between $1.60 and $1.70.
* Latest Trotting Final odds:
$1.60 A Touch Of Flair; $4.50 Glenbogle, $5.50 Whatsundermykilt; $20 Flying Hardwick, Jauriol; $22 Viva La Fever; $30 Tamra Dawn; $50 Motu Miss Anna, Bonito, Uncle Petrika; $100 What Ever You Like, Code Of Honour; $125 Backa Beyond.
