Toni Collette (“Hereditary”) is set to star as Jan, a woman who starts a racing syndicate in her small Welsh village and attempts to raise a champion racehorse, in “Dream Horse.” Damian Lewis (“Billions”) has also been cast in the film and will play the local accountant who joins the impromptu syndicate.
Euros Lyn (“Black Mirror”) will direct. Neil McKay has adapted the story, which is based on real events, for the big screen.
The real-life drama was previously the subject of Louise Osmond’s documentary “Dark Horse,” which, like “Dream Horse,” was backed by Film4. “Three Identical Strangers” producer Raw is making the film. Warner Bros. has pre-bought the U.K. distribution rights. Cornerstone Films will handle sales elsewhere.
Ingenious Media and Ffilm Cymru Wales are also backing the movie.
“I grew up in the Welsh valleys where everyone knows this story – it’s a local legend,” Lyn said. “The moment I read Neil’s brilliant script, I knew I had to direct this funny and moving film. Casting Toni Collette as Jan Vokes, our extraordinary heroine, and Damian Lewis as Howard Davies, her intriguingly conflicted accomplice, is my own dream come true.”
Producer Katherine Butler said that “Euros Lyn’s immediate and passionate response to the script completely convinced us that he was born to direct this film.” She added that “together with the support of all our financiers, the local Welsh cast and crew, and the horse-racing community, we are off to the races.”