If “incredible true story” is in the title, then it better be something good. Happily, director Louise Ormond is working around a classic sporting underdog story.
Even better: it’s a classic sporting under-horse story. The Dream Alliance saga begins in 2000 when Jan Vokes, a barmaid from Cefn Fforest, a depleted mining village in south Wales, got talking to a local tax adviser, Howard Davies, a racing enthusiast.
Jan and her husband subsequently hatched a plan to breed a racehorse. In order to finance the venture – what with the sperm prices – they sold shares to locals, at a price of £10 a week.
Named Dream Alliance, the plucky chestnut horse was born and raised at a DIY stable at a slag heap allotment and went on to place at Cheltenham. That, it soon transpired, was only the beginning of the Dream Alliance drama.
For those who don’t have ethical quibbles with the Grand National, this is a crowd-pleaser. Its cast of principals make for great company. And there’s a great glee to be had from the notion that a creature of such lowly origins could outrun horses with far more zeros on their price-tag.
Dark Horse is good fun, if a little too light; the equine sound effects do not sit well. It is a nice looking production, though it couldn't look less like a theatrical documentary if they had included commercial breaks every 20 minutes.
There is chatter about a major motion picture of these events. See this one before they ruin the story.
