Guinness, nuts and a five-year-old gelding - ITV documentary airs on seven mates who made it from the club to the course

A feature-length documentary charting the story of a group of friends who hatched a plan to buy a racehorse over a few drinks in their local club airs at 9pm on ITV's main channel on Tuesday.

'It's Showtime' focuses on Showtime Mahomes, trained by Grant Tuer in Northallerton, and his owners, and tells the story of how racehorse ownership has transformed the lives of seven "working class" men from the north east.

Starting with a promising first run of 2023 at Ripon, the documentary follows the ups and downs of Showtime Mahomes's season before a return trip to York, the scene of an emotional win the previous year.

Looking beyond what the horse manages to achieve on the track, the documentary tells the personal stories of the seven friends who own Showtime Mahomes as part of The Muffed Punt Partnership and highlights the positive experience of owning a racehorse with mates.  

One owner reflects coping with the loss of his wife of 40 years, while another tells how the horse and partnership have helped him talk about his son's self-harming and aggressive behaviour towards him and his wife. Tuer also features and provides insight into the unorthodox manner in which the group operates. 

The documentary runs for 80 minutes and can also be streamed on ITVX. 

It is not the only additional exposure British racing can expect on ITV this year, as a six-part docuseries covering behind-the-scenes action from this season's jumps campaign will air this summer.

That project, operating under the working title Champions: Full Gallop, is set to feature six hour-long episodes and air on ITV1 and ITVX alongside STV in Scotland at a prime-time slot this summer.

Read these next: 

British racing's Drive To Survive - ITV1 to air jump racing docuseries in primetime slot next year 

Racing's big opportunity: Jockey Club chief confident that 'primetime shop window' will drive new fans to the sport 

New docuseries crucial in fighting sport's 'existential crisis' says Racing League founder 

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