'Barney Curley: The Man Who Beat the Bookies' set to air on Monday

Barney Curley's legendary Yellow Sam gamble will be brought to life on television on Monday evening.

'Barney Curley: The Man Who Beat the Bookies' tells the story of how the trainer, who died earlier this year, landed one of the most famous coups in the history of racing at Bellewstown in 1975.

The hour-long special will be shown in Ireland on RTE1 at 9.35pm and will be immediately available on BBC iPlayer when the broadcast ends.

The programme is the brainchild of former Newsnight producer and racehorse owner James Bray, who has been determined to tell the tale since first writing to Curley more than five years ago.

"It's been a bit of a scramble putting it all together, so I only saw the final cut yesterday and I really enjoyed it," Bray said on Sunday.

"It doesn't include all of Barney's chequered career but it shows how they executed the Yellow Sam gamble and why it happened, which traces the origins in his childhood.

"It also fast-forwards to his latter years in Zambia. There are lots of stories about gambles but this elevates the tale – he was highly successful yet by the end of his life he was giving it all away, which is quite an unusual coda."

The documentary, directed by Irishman Ross Whitaker, will include a re-creation of the famous race, which is said to have earned Curley the equivalent of £2 million in today's money in a coup that involved blocking the only public phone at the track.

James Bray: 'It shows how they executed the Yellow Sam gamble and why it happened'Credit: James Bray

Bray, whose father Ian owned Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Cybrandian, said: "We shot extensively with Barney in 2017 and 2019 and we have Mick Furlong, the jockey who rode Yellow Sam, plus two bookies who were on the track in 1975 and are still betting today – in one case out of the same satchel!

"There was no footage of the race as there is little at all of any Irish racing in the 1970s. But we're very lucky that John Bellew, who lives in Bellewstown, is an enthusiastic videographer with a trove of stuff he shot on an early video camera on the course in the 1970s, which really helps provide the atmosphere."

Read more about Barney Curley:

Barney Curley, legendary punter and former trainer, dies at the age of 81

'He was everything to me' – Frankie Dettori pays tribute to Barney Curley

Key turf figures from past and present turn out to say goodbye to Barney Curley

Long list of winning gambles contributed to the popular legend of Barney Curley

Remembering Barney Curley: the life and times of one of racing's best characters

Yellow Sam: a perfectly executed gamble that netted Barney Curley a fortune

Dream result at Bellewstown as Dettori wins race run in memory of Barney Curley

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