Sporting Narratives provides InsiderSport with the opportunity to explore a sports story that has been portrayed through the medium of cinema.
This edition looks at Betfair’s enthralling serial winners series, which gives an insight into the world and mindset of a decorated sporting figure.
The first gripping installment of the series looks at the preparation and psyche of one of the world’s most recognised and successful trainers, Paul Nicholls.
Throughout his career the British trainer has notched up over 3,000 winners, including a Grand National and multiple Gold Cups. The 11-time Champion Trainer embodies the term serial winner in every sense of the word, and the short Betfair film breaks down how he does it.
A key theme of the film is that it reveals the meticulous approach of Nicholls, as he maximises his portfolio of horses in order to achieve the greatest amount of success as possible.
It also highlights the significance of maintaining a relationship with each of the horses in his yard, and identifying those winners when they do come along.
In the film, Nicholls emphasises the idea that ‘you don’t find great horses, they find you’. But judging from his successes over the years, Nicholls’ expertise and ‘relentless desire’ to train winners has clearly had a role to play.
In what is truly a must-watch for racing fans, Betting Analyst George Dawson, Racing Journalist Thom Malone and Nicholls himself share insights and break down what has led to the trainer becoming one of the most successful figures in racing and gaining notoriety as a serial winner.
It’s a tremendous credit to Betfair that the film is so exhilarating, given that it’s so artistically shot and dramatically put together. The films are deeply engaging ways in which the betting operator maximises its deals with a plethora of highly renowned ambassadors, David Haye, Dimitar Berbatov, Joseph O’Brien and Gordon Elliott are all expected to be part of the series.