Riding A Dream: the sublime story of Khadijah Mellah's unlikeliest of victories

The story of Khadijah Mellah is one that defies convention. Her meteoric rise from humble south London beginnings to the winner's enclosure at Glorious Goodwood captured the imagination of a nation and forged a new kinship between British horseracing and the Muslim community.

Riding A Dream, which premiered in Brixton, South London on Monday night, chronicles this marvellous journey, and in half an hour offers a glimpse of a young woman whose powerful personality is as tangible as her blossoming riding ability.

Mellah's ride in the Magnolia Cup in August was the first for a woman wearing a hijab on a British racecourse – that in itself is a marvellous thing. Her subsequent victory is the stuff of dreams, and gives this important story the grandstand finish it so richly deserves.

The documentary is the brainchild of ITV Racing's Oli Bell, who brought the idea to life thanks to funding from Great British Racing, Goodwood racecourse and the Racing Foundation.

Bell wanted to cast a spotlight on the wonderful work of the Ebony Horse Club, the Brixton riding school that offers an opportunity for those from deprived inner city backgrounds to enjoy an activity that has rarely been afforded to them.

Khadijah Mellah (right) shouts with joy as she crosses the line to win the Magnolia Cup on HaverlandCredit: Edward Whitaker

"It was really important for me to get exposure for Ebony," Bell says. "That was the initial intention, but I knew from the first phone conversation that Khadijah was fiercely determined to prove people wrong about what people would think she could achieve. That is all her, that is her wonderful strength as a human being."

Mellah's ascendency began at Ebony and it is to that club, three months before the Magnolia Cup, the viewer is first taken. The magnetism of her personality is almost instantly apparent, as is her fierce pride in her Islamic background and a mature understanding of the opportunity she has to help break down the stereotypes that define the modern Muslim woman.

"A lot of people seem to think that girls from my background tend to be stay-at-home mums who cook and clean," Mellah says, in the manner of one much older and wiser than just 18 years old. "A big part of my life has been about proving people wrong about what a person like me can achieve. I love surprising people."

One of the great achievements of Riding A Dream is that at no point does the subject appear contrived. So often stories that transcend their initial confines become clouded, the protagonist losing a degree of agency as the national media swarms towards them.

Yet such is Mellah's force of spirit and conviction to her principles, that the feeling never once touches you during viewing. This is a young Muslim woman determined to shape her own story and does so with the positive impact it will have on her community at the forefront of her mind.

In terms of riding, Mellah's transformation into a Magnolia Cup winner is quite astonishing. Faced with the prospect of preparing for her A-levels and beginning her intense training programme at the same time, we experience her peaks and troughs first-hand through three arduous months during which the certainty of riding in the race comes under serious threat.

Khadijah Mellah celebrates with her mother Selma after winning the Magnolia CupCredit: Dan Kitwood (Getty Images)

She admits to feeling out of her depth during a first visit to the Newmarket gallops and is left devastated after failing a first riding assessment. Those failures are juxtaposed with great moments of ecstasy, all of which are intrinsically linked with the warm, beaming smile that frequented the fronts of many national newspapers in the days after her landmark victory.

The very best documentaries take you to places beyond reality and make you forget the closing chapters of stories you may already know. Therefore, it is a testament to the filmmakers that one is beset by palpable nerves and sweaty palms as Magnolia Cup day arrives; we know Khadijah wins but we need to see it for it to become reality once again.

Her smooth, almost effortless riding style is completely at odds with the rider who we first meet as she eases her beloved Haverland – the 25-1 outsider for the race – into a winning position up the rail before a photo-finish is called.

As announcement of her victory arrives, the voice of Richard Hoiles booms out over the tannoy proclaiming the victory to be "a fairytale for Khadijah Mellah". Yet this was something much more, this was a fairytale for us all.

Riding A Dream will be aired on ITV1 at 12.15pm on Saturday, immediately after the Rugby World Cup final.

Members can read the latest exclusive interviews, news analysis and comment available from 6pm daily on racingpost.com