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I had completely forgotten about Trainer the tv series. I wonder if it is available to watch/sale anywhere.
Marlingford,
I watched all of series #1. Although I thought the major characters were a touch cardboard and that the plotlines were too predictable, I enjoyed it. I’m just as capable of watching programmes of questionable quality as the next person.
Series #2 went downhill quickly when less racing was shown in favour of people having relationships (however brief). I guess my position is that I’d rather watch a poor horse racing programme than none at all.
Both series are available for the sum of £17.25 plus delivery from the supplier hereunder:
Granada TV produced a version of Silver Blaze under the Sherlock Holmes banner in 1988. Jeremy Brett & Edward Hardwicke are superb as always but the racing scenes are awful.
None of the half-dozen runners does a tap during the race and the entire field canters past the winning post. It’s not often one sees 6 non-triers in a 6-horse race.
(Showing a perverse dedication to nitpicking, I should point out also that number cloths were on display during the race. This is an anachronism since they weren’t introduced until the early 1920s.)
I’m a big fan of Sherlock Holmes stories but there are a few things wrong with Conan Doyle’s tale of Silver Blaze. I recall posting something about that on here a few years ago.
Apologies for the topic drift.
Yes Seasider I see the Trainer available at that website but I am not sure of the website, it comes up as unsecure.
Murphy’s Stroke is worth a watch. James Bond and Brian Quigley in it. About the Gay Future affair.
My favourite racing film though is National Velvet.
Anyone remember Derby Day with Googie Withers?
Phar Lap: Hero To A Nation is very good too, one of the better ones.One I haven’t seen yet but am keen to is the one about Michelle Payne – Ride Like A Girl. Reviews not great but I’d like to see it and Dream Horse also.
cormack15
Also – does anyone remember a short-lived kids series in the early 80s called Jockey School?
Good shout re National Velvet cormack15, had forgotten that one.
Have just watched Dream Horse, this of course being the dramatised version of the story of the Welsh National winner Dream Alliance. Dream Horse follows on from Dark Horse, an excellent feature-length documentary about the same subject.
I expect if someone watched Dream Horse without having watched the documentary first, then they might think that some of its characters or settings were verging on being caricatures. However, the film appears to be a pretty faithful retelling of this highly implausible yet true story. If I wanted to nitpick, then some of the details have changed for no obvious reason (e.g. where and when Dream Alliance ran), but the film-makers have been respectful to the source material in general.
All in all, I found Dream Horse to be a high quality film with an excellent leading performance from Toni Collette. If you enjoy inspirational feel-good films then I’d definitely recommend it.
Racing seems to have attracted quite a lot of cinematic attention recently with this film, Ride Like A Girl and Jockey all coming out in the last couple of years. Am looking forward to watching the latter two, and also The Rainbow Jacket as recommended above.
Grand National Night starring Nigel Patrick & Moira Lister is quite good.
It’s regularly on the Talking Pictures channel along with Derby Day that cormack refers to.A trainer wins the National but his wife comes home drunk, they have a violent argument, he accidentally kills her and it looks like murder.
I completely agree with David Cormack – National Velvet is an incredible, brilliant film, from the Aintree replica I think they built, to the storyline, to the peach of a ride Elizabeth Taylor gave The Pie!
Won as she liked and protected his Handicap mark too!
I’ve Gotta Horse with Billy Fury is another movie worth a watch, not least because it features his own real-life horse which really did end up finishing fourth in The Derby!
But nothing tops The Rainbow Jacket (nap) for me.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Thanks Ian, that’s interesting about Billy Fury, and another one for the list.
It has also led me to this website http://www.britishhorseracingmovies.uk. Lots more on there!
I have that Billy Fury film on VHS..and nothing to play it on.
Champions is my all time favourite film one minute into the title music and the hankies are out. Aldaniti starring as himself..legend.
JacThings turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...Love your attention to detail Seasider, You did make me laught at the Sherlock
Holmes story. I can imagine you furiously taking notes about the racing in indignation
about their lack of detail to the period,Thanks for that
I enjoyed Dream Horse too although it isn’t on the same level as Dark Horse which is up there with all of the best documentaries. A documentary that has you on the edge of your seat even though you know what’s going to happen has got to be pretty special. I remember the first time I saw National Velvet. Sunday afternoon at a friends flat after we’d had a Saturday night out that I remember nothing about. Was disappointed because I’m a bit of a National Velvet purist and couldn’t get over the fact that The Pie was a chestnut. But I must watch it again because the book was such a huge part of my childhood love of racing. Mickey Hammond had a couple of coloured racehorses but they turned out to be rubbish. I did like seeing them going through the village up to the gallops.Rum Baba and Fat Rascal they were called ( I think). I so wanted Bryony to be the first girl to ride a National winner because she fits in much better with the Velvet Brown of my imagination. One of the few books that I can still quote passages from whilst welling up and going all tearful. Did boys read it I wonder or was it just us horse mad little girls?
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