A barmaid who beat the odds to breed a champion racehorse has shared her story – and it is going to be made into a film.
Janet Vokes was pulling pints in a working men’s club when she overheard a conversation about owning a racehorse.
“That conversation changed my life,” says Janet, 65.
Determined to prove that anyone could succeed in the sport of kings, she bought a mare for £350 and paired it with a pedigree stallion.
She then helped create a syndicate of 23 residents from her village in a historic mining area.
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Each paid £10 a week to raise the foal on a slag heap allotment.
Dream Alliance went on to win the Welsh National in 2009 and has already featured in an award-winning Netflix documentary, Dark Horse.
But Janet has now told her own personal story in a book, Dream Horse, which was released last month.
A film of the same name is to follow – featuring an all-star cast.
Janet says: “I had given thought to writing a book after the documentary but didn’t have the time. It has taken around a year to put the book together.
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“It tells the story from my childhood, how I met my husband and then there was Dream.
“The documentary was fantastic but I feel like I had more of a say over the book.”
In the film, Janet will be played by Toni Collette, from Sixth Sense and Muriel’s Wedding.
Homeland’s Damian Lewis stars as a member of the syndicate in the South Wales village of Cefn Fforest.
Bafta-winning director Euros Lyn is also on board and has called Janet an “extraordinary heroine”.
Janet says: “Dream turned our lives upside down and took us places we’d never even dreamed of.”
Dream competed in the 2010 Grand National but pulled up after the seventh fence. He ran in seven more races but was unplaced and was later diagnosed with a lung condition.
He was retired in 2012 and today enjoys a slower pace of life in Somerset.
