Kiwi

Kiwi the chestnut gelding lit the racing world on fire in 1983 when he became the only horse ever to win both the Wellington and Melbourne Cups. Kiwi had been a huge underdog — bursting from the back of the field in the Melbourne Cup to blitz to the front. This TV movie tells Kiwi's remarkable story, from rounding up sheep on a Taranaki farm to eventual race success with jockey Jimmy Cassidy. In this excerpt, an unruly young Cassidy (Patrick Carroll) is soon to leave high school. Cassidy was just 18 when he and Kiwi stunned the racing world. Kiwi was nominated for Best Feature Drama at the 2019 NZ TV Awards.

[Kiwi has] always been my favourite. I get that question asked a lot, 'who's your favourite?' I was lucky enough to ride 104 of them — and the first one is always Kiwi.

– The real Jimmy Cassidy talks about his horse racing memories, Stuff, 8 July 2018

Key Cast & Crew

Patrick Carroll

As: Jimmy Cassidy

Nick Blake

As: Ewan 'Snowy' Lupton

Alison Bruce

As: Anne Lupton

Thomas Robins

Director

Carmen J Leonard

Producer

John Banas

Writer