For British audiences not acquainted with the legend of the under-sized colt that inspired an America emerging from the Wall Street Crash this could well fall at the first.

A Walton-esque saga, the rags-to-riches equine legend is equated with the three men who together triumphed over adversity to help him to star-spangled victory.

Owner Charles Howard (Bridges) was a self-made millionaire who lost his son in a car accident while trainer Tom Smith (Cooper) was a cowboy whose world was vanishing.

Carrot-topped Johnny (Maguire) is Red (although over here he'd be Ginge, which hasn't got the same clout), the disenfranchised youth who discovers he can ride. Really well.

They're brought together when the American economy clips its own Beecher's Brook - the Wall Street Crash - and Seabiscuit is the catalyst for their recovery.

A unruly colt who prefers sleeping and oats to bursting out of the starting gate, he's the raw material that transforms the trio from back-markers to winners.

At two hours-plus this is a veritable Grand National of a movie that struggles to find its feet but, once in the saddle, proves to be a rewarding ride (if you can stand the pace).

All the leads - tried and tested thoroughbreds everyone - perform adequately in what unashamedly strives to be a Big American Picture.

So we get a lot of home-spun philosphy and a bit of tenuous analogy, with the spirit of the American Dream fighting back after economic ruin.

The racing sequences are superbly shot, capturing the exhilaration of the big race and the less noble trickery required to triumph.

However, things only really reach full gallop when Seabiscuit is up and running, and the lead-up suffers the occasional longeur.

When things threaten to get too ponderous, William H Macy rides to the rescue as a seedy collision between DLT and John McCririck to lighten the mood.

So not a donkey derby but neither Cheltenham Gold Cup. It's probably safe to say for those with a weak spot for horseracing this takes the, er, Seabiscuit.

Tim Evans