Film review: Disney’s Secretariat: The Impossible True Story
Having been not much more than a baby in 1973, the tale of Secretariat, the American thoroughbred who was the first horse to win the Triple Crown in 25 years, was not one I was familiar with.
So I entered the cinema for the preview of this Walt Disney movie with few expectations — and I loved it.
Secretariat is your traditional “overcoming the odds” and “plucky underdog” film for a number of reasons.
Owner Penny Chenery (Diane Lane) must overcome the odds of being a woman in a man’s world, of trying to salvage her father’s racing yard, which has hit hard times and juggle her life as a mother, wife and racehorse breeder.
“Big Red” on the other hand is by Bold Ruler out of a Princequillo mare, so is bred to be fast but might not stay the distance.
And the trainer, Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich), has a lot to prove, having left racing after a string of failures.
Despite knowing the outcome of all the races, the film posters rather give that away, the race scenes are edge of the seat stuff.
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I rode every furlong with jockey Ron Turcotte.
And OK, this being Disney and not The Racing Channel, there is a bit of sugary sentiment — and the friction between Big Red and his rival Sham is a bit silly — but this really is a feel-good movie and one for all the family.
Secretariat is released on 3 December
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.