Legends Of The Turf

The Big Man goes to Hollywood:

BHEKINKOSI TO PLAY ELEVATION
Elevation, an enormously imposing chestnut, by the Queen’s horse, High Veldt, was one of a kind. When he was sold by the late Jane Engelhard, at auction, in South Africa, following the demise of her multi-millionaire husband, Charles, he was knocked down to Dennis and Peggy Mosenthal and Eric Gallo for the then record price of R43 000.
Happily, Garett Murphy has come up with a solution to the problem of finding a replica with his 10-time winning Kahal gelding, Bhekinkosi, who has the same frame as Elevation, albeit that the latter was a little richer in colour with not quite as much orange in his coat. However, with a little make-over and some tweaking in post-production he should fill the part admirably.
Sad to say, we’ve had little response thus far from trainers to recommend horses which might have passed through their hands which resemble the heroes of yesteryear, but a couple of Mary Slack’s retirees look likely prospects. Gold Angus might make a good Sea Cottage, and Kavanagh, returned from the northern hemisphere and now fattening up at her Randjesfontein livery stable, is not a bad stand-in for Archangel.

So there is a documentary...................or a movie featuring the stars of yester-year in production???

Should be very interesting, please put us " in the picture ". :lol:

Taken from the FB page.

Legends Of The Turf

About.


A five part documentary series outlining the birth and growth of the South African horse racing and breeding industry featuring many of the great horses to have graced the SA turf since the dawn of the professional era in 1887.


Description

The "Legends" series is a five part documentary series that will later be broadcast on various national sports networks. It will later be packaged in a DVD format and be made available for purchase.

The first documentary, which will run to approximately one and a half hours, is about the history of the racing and breeding industry in South Africa. It encompasses 200 years of history starting in 1790 when racing first began on Greenpoint Common under the patronage of Lord Charles Somerset. The documentary then examines how the breeding industry flourished through the various era's, how racing was affected by politics, war and discovery, and who the major players and breed shapers of our industry were. It is a fascinating and entertaining journey that will give the viewer a deep understanding and insight into the evolution of the SA racing and breeding industry.

Throughout the intricately woven story, we will also take a look at some of the superstars of the turf from the early years as well as the early bloodlines of yesteryear and how their influence on the breed still lives on today.

Although there is mention of the industry today, essentially the storyline in the first documentary ends at around 1960, with the slow decline of the Karoo as the major breeding region in South Africa.

From 1960, we continue the story through the accomplishments of the greatest racehorses ever to have set foot on the SA turf.

The first DVD in the "Legends" series is called "The Golden Age" and comprises horses who raced in this country from 1960 to 1980.

DVD 2 will be made up of the horses who raced from 1980 to 2000 and the final DVD will be made up of horses who have set the international tracks on fire.


Plot Outline
An intricately woven tapestry of 200 years of South African racing and breeding history featuring colourful characters, great horses and interesting and entertaining stories.

Great Garret

I actually offered to play Andrew Fortune but at 106kg I'm too light

Bet your hands are still good though :lol:

The section of the "Legends project which is nearing completion is the part dealing with what has been called "The Golden Age of Racing", from 1960 to 1980. This deals with horses like Colorado King, Renounce, Sea Cottage, Hawaii, Gatecrasher, Sledgehammer, Archangel, Elevation, In Full Flight, Sentinel, Politician, Yataghan etc. Each episode is half an hour long but two episodes have been devoted to Sea Cottage, Sledgehammer,the Archangel/Gatecrasher rivalry and the I Full Flight/Sentinel rivalry.

Shooting commences on 10th November with the 83 re-enactments needed to complete this series, and many of these require look-alikes of the people concerned, as well as look-alikes of the horses involved. It's been a long and painstaking process to cast these characters but we are near the end of that road. We still need a "Cookie" Amos, a Raymond Rhodes and a Bertie Hayden.

We are also looking for old saddles, riding breeches and racing equipment of that era and if there are any retired jockeys who might be able to help us out we urge you to come forward.

Likewise, if anyone would like to participate in the filming, in crowd scenes etc., almost all of which will be filmed at either Turffontein or the Vaal, please contact me, Jimmy Lithgow, on 083 228 0791.