A dark horse gets it done with heart
The serviceable, behindthe-scenes documentary “Chasing the Win” follows a $20,000 Kentucky-bred gelding called Kinsale King as it competed in high-stakes international events against horses that cost up to 500 times more at auction.
Directed by Laura Sheehy (whose father, Patrick Sheehy, is the horse’s pragmatist owner) and Chris Ghelfi, the film provides an insider’s look at the quicksilver fortunes of King and his trainer, a quirky young Irishman named Carl O’Callaghan, as they rose to unexpected heights during the 2009-11 racing seasons.
Fueled by eggs, hay and four pints of Guinness per day, Kinsale King trained and raced across three continents on world-famous courses. Early success brought high expectations and the film emphasizes how difficult (and expensive) it is to stay on top.
There was a bit of Irish luck in the U.S.-based Sheehy discovering — and taking a chance on — his countryman O’Callaghan back in Southern California. Despite not being of high breeding, Kinsale King had talent, and it turned out that O’Callaghan was just the horseman to bring it out.
Though practically everyone involved in the film invokes a winning-is-everything sentiment, it’s clearly not entirely true. O’Callaghan and the Sheehys obviously care deeply for the animals they train.
And although the film lags a bit in the backstretch, the ending will leave a lump in the throat of even the most cynical viewer. “Chasing the Win.” Not rated. Running time: 1 hour, 22 minutes. Playing: Arena Cinelounge, Hollywood.