THE director of an unlikely rags-to-riches story of a Gwent racehorse said the film would not have been possible without its inspiring contributors and the support of the local community.

The award-winning documentary film Dark Horse, which tells the true story of Cefn Fforest stallion Dream Alliance, premieres next week in Blackwood.

His owner, Jan Vokes, a barmaid with no experience of horse racing, decided to invest £300 in the stuttering stallion, who was born in 2001. She convinced nine people to pay £10 a week as part of a syndicate to pay for his upkeep

In a race at Aintree in 2008, a near-fatal fall severed one of Dream Alliance’s tendons but following pioneering stem cell surgery, he comfortably won the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow as a 20-1 outsider a year later.

Three years in the making, the documentary has been directed by renowned director Louise Osmond. It is her fifth theatrical documentary with her first being the award-winning Deep Water in 2006.

Ahead of the film’s premiere at the Maxime Cinema in Blackwood on April 14, Mrs Osmond said: “The story had been covered by national newspapers at the time and the minute I came across it, I knew it would be an amazing project.

“All the contributors were inspiring and complimented each other brilliantly. Jan, individually, is just so inspiring and fearless. She didn’t see obstacles or think, ‘Why not?’

“So many people in the area have helped us in making this film and we will all gather in one place for the premiere. It will be a lovely occasion.

“I’m convinced, with the Maxime recently reopening, it will be a huge success and it’s a lovely coincidence.”

Rugby legends JPR Williams and Martyn Williams, West End performer Sophie Evans, and Dirty Sanchez star Matthew Pritchard are all set to attend the red carpet event next week. It will be followed by a question and answer session hosted by TV presenter Lisa Rogers.

Although not yet on general release, Dark Horse won the audience award in the world cinema documentary competition at the Sundance Film Festival this year.

Mrs Osmond said: “It was lovely for everyone involved to take their baby out in to the world.

“We all put so much into it and people have been moved by something that happened in a small village in the Valleys.”