In the week in which its new documentary ‘Rooney’ premiered in Manchester and enjoyed its debut on Amazon Prime, Lorton Entertainment is proud to announce its next release, Horsepower.
Horsepower is a compelling five-part docu-series that follows the fortunes of one of the world’s leading racehorse trainers, Andrew Balding, and three-time British champion jockey,Oisin Murphy. The series covers a nine-month period as the duo prepare for the biggest week of their year at one of the most prestigious events in the global sporting calendar, the five days of Royal Ascot.
Through the award winning and critically acclaimed films ‘Diego Maradona’, ‘The Australian Dream’ and ‘Supersonic’, as well as its latest release, ‘Rooney’, Lorton Entertainment has established a reputation for producing captivating, quality documentaries.
Their latest project, Horsepower, is a co-production with Equine Productions, a company that specialises in producing high-class racing and equestrian content. Also, on board as Executive Producer and creative lead is BAFTA and EMMY nominated Stevan Riley, whose credits include ‘Fire in Babylon’ and ‘Listen to Me, Marlon’.
Horsepower combines remarkable human-interest stories with unrivalled behind the scenes access and insight to the sport of horseracing, climaxing in thrilling fashion at the world’s most famous and competitive race meeting, Royal Ascot.
Along the way the series covers action from iconic UK race venues such as Newmarket and Epsom, the home of the Derby, as well as following the stars of the series on their travels to the Breeders’ Cup in the USA and the Saudi Cup in the Middle East. Race sequences are brought to life through the use of ‘JockeyCam’, a camera unique to Equine Productions that provides a jockey’s eye view of a race, as well as stunning cinematography capturing the beauty of the sport.
Horsepower follows the ups and downs of champion jockey Oisin Murphy, as be bids to bounce back from a career threatening positive test for cocaine, and star trainer Andrew Balding, as he strives to fulfil his own ambitions. Also featured are Andrew’s family, notably his wife Anna Lisa, who plays a pivotal role in the business, and his sister, the broadcaster and writer, Clare Balding.
The series also reveals the breadth of people involved with preparing a horse for Royal Ascot, from Andrew’s portfolio of owners that includes Her Majesty The Queen and members of Middle Eastern royal families, to the dedicated grooms and staff looking after the horses, who themselves hail from a range of backgrounds, including the remarkable story of Abdul Musa Adam, a refugee from Sudan.
Julian Bird, CEO Lorton Entertainment, said: “Horsepower tells a story that has not been covered in this manner or depth before and in doing so reveals so many fascinating and moving storylines. It will enthral those with an existing interest in racing and intrigue and delight newcomers to the sport. We believe it will appeal to a range of audiences and has the potential to cross over in the manner that both ‘Drive to Survive’ and ‘The Last Dance’ have done.
“We are in advanced talks with several potential streaming partners covering both the UK and abroad, with an announcement about where and when people will be able to watch this show to follow soon. Those in the racing community will have read the stories about similar projects in development, which underlines the huge potential in our series. I am delighted that, together with Equine Productions, we greenlit this project back in 2020 and are now ready to air the series.”
The producers on Horsepower from Equine Productions are Dave James and former PR Director of The Jockey Club, John Maxse, who said: “Our thanks to Andrew and Anna Lisa Balding and Oisin Murphy, without them the inside story of the ups and downs they faced along the way would not have been caught on film in the dramatic way it has. With their help, along with the expertise of the team Lorton put together, we were able to achieve what we set out to do, namely show why those involved in the sport have good reason to be so passionate about it.”
Horseracing is the second most watched and attended sport in the UK, second only to football. Along with owners, trainers, jockeys and horses from all over the world, Royal Ascot attracts over 300,000 racegoers. Coverage of the meeting is broadcast to Australia, China, Japan, the Middle East and the USA and is available to an estimated 650m homes worldwide.
Release date spring 2022.
