It was really good. At the theater you could hear some of the people cheering for the horse at the end, and everyone clapped, even sat through the end credits.
It was not only the best horse movie I have seen, but one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.
However, there were (as always) unrealistic elements…one day the filly’s barely breeding sound, the next day she’s bolting for a few miles like she was in racing trim. A week before the BC she’s putting in 1:01.x times for 5f, and then she somehow becomes unfat and super awesome for the Classic. Oh, and then there was the whole “she’ll always be infertile” thing…what the hell? Granted, I don’t know much about how you would go about testing a mare’s fertility, but I doubt you could just categorically say a 2yo would be infertile forever.
Not to mention that they got Grand Slam’s stud fee wrong…and why him? He’s nice, but you’d think Ashford would want to brag about someone else, and have the right stud fee in the film.
Good movie, nonetheless…just don’t think it’s must-own quality, like Seabiscuit. Plus, I think Dakota Fanning was more convincing as a football fan than a racing fan…she spent most of the movie screaming wildly, which should’ve made the poor filly hate her/be scared of her, but instead somehow this “racehorse” decided to become her personal valet and carry around her backpack all over the place.
And as a final note, can I point out that the name “Sacrifice” is a really bad one for a horse? That’s the name of the filly/mare that played Sonador in the movie. Cute mare, by the way, even if she is chestnut.