Few people knew the true story of the first ever-recorded steeplechase in 1752, the great-great Grand daddy of the Grand National, Britain’s most celebrated horse race.

It was reported to have taken place as a wager between Cornelius O’Callaghan and Edmund Blake. The competitive duo raced four miles between the spires of Doneraile, Ireland; travelling along the banks of the River at breakneck speed clearing stone walls, ditches and hedges in a show of strength, stamina and tremendous skill, symbolizing the original extreme sport of its day.

While the idea was inspired by real historical events we certainly didn’t want to make a sepia tinted history lesson.

This was a punk revisionist retelling of horse history. It was something noisy, brave and unexpected that was purposely designed to get the audience excited in advance of the race.

The two jockeys representing O’Callaghan and Blake were played by professional stuntmen, later replaced by the 19 times Champion jump jockey, AP McCoy, and Richard Johnson for a present day, ‘heading out to race’ scene.

With this modern approach not only do we rejoice in the extreme antics of the historical jockeys - we also connect it to bravery of the jockeys today.

The brief for casting was difficult as the leads had to fit the age of the two men in our story, whilst being able to act, be proficient riders, and on the stunt register.

To make a fast action packed sports piece we used the Russian Arm that would work with the movement of the horses, whilst not putting them at risk.

Our trickiest shot was the camera running at speed through the sedan chair. This was achieved with a zip wire cable-cam and some clever post production!