Synopsis

Horse trainer Ben Crane is struggling with his career and his relationship with his young daughter, Cale. After a promising racehorse suffers a devastating leg injury, Cale persuades her father to save the animal rather than have her euthanized. As the horse slowly recovers, father and daughter rebuild their bond while pursuing an unlikely return to competitive racing.

Factoids & Trivia

• The story was loosely inspired by Mariah's Storm, a real Thoroughbred who suffered a broken cannon bone in 1993, recovered, and later won graded stakes races. She eventually became best known as the dam of champion sire Giant's Causeway.

• Cale Crane was originally written as a boy. The character was changed specifically for Dakota Fanning, and the project was reportedly considered much more likely to receive a green light if she took the role.

• The production used several different horse techniques for safety. An experienced film horse handled the lie-down scenes, a mechanical horse was used for some mounting and riding shots, and a full-sized stuffed horse was used during rehearsals.

• The horses were gradually acclimated to the production vehicles before filming so they would be less startled by the camera trucks and other equipment around the track.

• Several real stallions associated with Ashford Stud are mentioned in the film, including Fusaichi Pegasus, Giant's Causeway, Johannesburg, and Grand Slam. The actual stallions were not used in the scenes; stand-ins appeared in their stalls.

• The theme song was selected after recording artists were shown an advance presentation of the film and invited to submit ideas. Bethany Dillon's song "Dreamer" was chosen for the soundtrack.

• As a wrap gift, Kurt Russell gave Dakota Fanning a real palomino horse. She named the horse Goldie.