Underdog sports movies are always crowd pleasers, and this one does not disappoint. yes, Dream Horse is somewhat predictable, but so are most films in that genre. Confronting issues of (literal) breeding and social class, it helps ensure that the audience is rooting for an unexpected champion. If racism is the defining scourge of American history, then classism is the UK equivalent. So it’s especially noticeable that Jan and her syndicate are humble horse owners: villagers working blue-collar and service-industry jobs (with the exception of Howard). These are not people who ever imagined rubbing elbows with the down-to-earth, titled gentry in the owners’ pits, but there they find themselves, if only with a bag of smuggled cans of beer (“Welsh champagne,” someone shouts). Director Euros Lyn (best known for his stellar British TV work such as Doctor Who, Happy Valleyand Broadchurch) does not delve deeply into the personal lives of the syndicate members, focusing primarily on Jan’s desire to love and protect the Dream Alliance after Rewbell’s death.

Dream Alliance is more than a horse: it symbolizes the collective hopes and goals of the villagers — an opportunity for working men and women to showcase the genteel world of thoroughbred horse racing to which a collection of cleaners and servants can aspire and achieve greatness. All it takes is dedication, hard work and the dignity to know it everything people deserve respect. The racing sequences spend as much time showing the watching syndicate as the actual horses – reveling in the awe and excitement the group feels when they see their “boy” pass other, favorite horses. There’s no jockey insight, no training montage to set the tone (apart from Dream’s first visit to a famous trainer, whose other clients arrive by helicopter and Range Rovers instead of an old van). While audiences will be able to guess much of what happens in the story, its heart will have viewers young and old rooting for a beautiful horse from a small Welsh town — and a band of villagers who become the ultimate underdog champions.