By John Corrado

★★★ (out of 4)

Despite horse racing mainly being known as a rich elitist sport, the people in a small, working class mining town in Wales had the dream of raising their own racehorse.  So they pooled their resources together and bred themselves a colt, who came to be known as Dream of Lions, and beat the odds in a series of prestigious competitions.

Directed by Louise Osmond, and utilizing a mix of interviews with the townspeople, archival footage and reenactments, the story of this underdog champion is recounted in the feel good documentary Dark Horse.  Although the film will be best enjoyed if you have a prior interest in equestrian sports, this is a charming real life crowdpleaser, that offers an inspiring story about following your dreams, chock full of quirky characters.

The DVD also includes a photo gallery.

Dark Horse is a Sony Pictures Classics release.  It’s 86 minutes and rated PG.