by Julian Wood
Worth: $15.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Andrew Rule (narrator)
Intro:
… a straightforward biopic, if such a thing can have an equine lead.
About ten years ago, there was a joke going around that the best athlete in Australia wasn’t male. In fact, she wasn’t even a woman – she was a horse. And it was sort of true. This documentary reminds us that the racehorse named Winx was indeed amazing. Despite racing against bigger and stronger (mostly male) horses, she and her jockey Hugh Bowman found a way through the pack and left them struggling in her wake, time and time again. She did this 33 times in a row, which would be notable in any sport and makes the medium-sized mare one of the true ‘GOATS’ of Australian turf history. For those who follow these things, she won four Cox Plates in a row, which will probably never be done again. Perhaps only Phar Lap from the 1930s could claim the same level of national recognition and affection. Towards the end of this nearly two-hour documentary, we see the capacity crowds packed into Randwick racecourse for her final run (yes, she won again, admittedly at unbackable short odds).
Janine Hosking’s documentary is a straightforward biopic, if such a thing can have an equine lead. Anyone who has been around horses knows that they are intelligent and sensitive creatures and of course, in their thoroughbred guise, shapely and fast. There are some obvious problems though. Old Winxy can’t tell her own story, so we have a line up of talking heads; owners and commentators, various strappers and groomers all coming in with an anthropomorphic version of their view of her character. The aforementioned repetitive winning streak is a bit of a problem for the structure – the race footage is all pretty similar.
Bowman holds Winx back, and then unleashes her Ferrari-like speed in the final furlongs to the chagrin and mazement of rival jockeys. You could certainly argue that Winx has a will to win, but that is as far as we can go with horse psychology. She is now (spoiler alert) happily munching grass in a lovely horsey retirement home and working on being a brood mare.
The humans in the story are not exactly documentary gold. Hugh Bowman – who is grateful to be associated with the once in a generation mount – is earnest in his praise but, unsurprisingly, doesn’t have much more to add. The trainer Chris Waller – from these glimpses – has a more interesting story but he comes across as mostly just very shy and dedicated. His stable crew all profess to love him as much as the horse.
The real problem with the film is the problem with the subject matter in a way. Horse racing could be seen as both a sport and an entertainment, but it couldn’t survive a day without the punters and, of course, the bookies. Apart from the occasional moment when Ladbrokes are able to sneak into the frame by draping its brand over the winner, the betting firms are never even mentioned. Winx’s record breaking prize money is (26 million if you are interested), but not the millions siphoned out of ordinary people’s pockets and into the betting firms’ balance sheets. To say this makes the film dishonest would be too harsh, but it is the elephant (not horse) in the room. Look, Winx deserves to skitter around the paddock of retirement for the rest of her days, and we might envy or applaud the luck of her owners, but a more rounded-out picture seems a distance too far for this film.
Photo by ©Turfstars Lisa Grimm
