'His legend will live on' - tributes paid as fairytale Welsh Grand National winner Dream Alliance dies aged 22

Dream Alliance, the Welsh Grand National winner whose fairytale story was turned into a Hollywood movie, has died at the age of 22.

The horse was at the centre of the 2020 film Dream Horse, which showcased his rags-to-riches tale and how he recovered from a career-threatening injury to land Wales's biggest race for a 23-member syndicate of local owners who each paid just £10 a week to keep him.

Dream Alliance was bred by pub barmaid Jan Vokes, who along with husband Brian spent just £350 to buy his dam Rewbell, before she kept him in a disused allotment in Cefn Fforest, Caerphilly. Vokes then formed a syndicate in the village's working men's club to fund his training as a three-year-old with Philip Hobbs.

Dream Alliance won four races in his novice seasons over hurdles and fences and chased home Denman in the 2007 Hennessy Gold Cup before sustaining his serious tendon injury after running at Aintree the following April. Vets reportedly said he was unlikely to race again but he underwent stem cell treatment and reappeared in November 2009. A month on from his comeback he triumphed in the Welsh Grand National under Tom O'Brien to provide one of the most remarkable stories in modern jump racing history. 

He failed to win again but went on to run in the Grand National and his story was turned into a documentary called Dark Horse in 2015, before the film starring Damian Lewis came out five years later. It is estimated to have made $6.6 million at the US box office.

Dream Alliance relaxing at Philip Hobbs's Somerset stablesCredit: David Dew

"He was a one in a million," said Vokes. "It's hard to look back and believe it really happened, things like that just don't happen to the likes of us. To have done it and after stem cell surgery – it really is something that films are made of. You've got to remember the good times we've had with him. He was second to Denman, he won at Perth and we had just tremendous fun with him. He had a fabulous home after racing and was well looked after. I've had loads of messages, people telling me he's gone but not forgotten. His legend will live on."

Dream Alliance was trained by John Flint for the final four starts of his career before retiring in 2012. He then spent the remainder of his life in the care of Clare Sandercock, a former groom with Hobbs who also looked after him during his racing career.

The news comes as Vokes's Phoenix Dream is set to join Hobbs on Monday. The mare is so named as she survived an arson attack on Vokes's stables in 2017. 

Vokes added: "She gets her name as she rose from the ashes after the arson attack. She's in pre-training with Martin Jones and will go down to Philip and Johnson [White, co-trainer] on Monday."

Hobbs paid his own tribute, telling ITV Racing: "He was from such a small syndicate in Wales who bred the horse, his value was very small so the day he won the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow was phenomenal – particularly having come back from such an awful injury. The film about him is great."

Dream Alliance won five races from 30 starts, accumulating £138,646 in prize-money.

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