The Fine Cotton Fiasco

It’s 1984, a small-time horse trainer becomes a key player in the most infamous scam in Australian racing history.

When struggling trainer Hayden Haitana and a motley crew of low level crims are roped into a ring-in scam, it all seems straightforward: Swap out Fine Cotton for an identical, faster horse, and clean up with the bookies on the long odds. But when their horse is injured, the plan falls apart.

Under pressure from the underworld’s biggest names, and drowning in booze, they come up with a solution that will seal their place in Australian crime infamy. They find a new fast horse and use human hair dye and house paint in an attempt to pass it off as Fine Cotton.

The Fine Cotton Fiasco is a heist movie. A true crime comedy caper. Think Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels meets Two Hands, set in the 1980’s Australia - full of the beer soaked Aussie larrikin flavour of the time. It was a time when Australia was more ‘Aussie’ than it’s ever been, or ever will be again.

The scam was one of the worst kept secrets in criminal history and when the race was run, half the country had money on Fine Cotton for the win - including cops, politicians and priests. And the end has a cracking twist you won’t see coming, even if you know the story.

Directed by: Nicholas Clifford

Written by: Nicholas Clifford

Produced by: Jim Wright & Elise Trenorden 

Status: In Development

Based on: The Fine Cotton Fiasco - written by Peter Hoysted and Pat Shiel. Published by Penguin Random House.