The young horse shows promise and earns a big check.

Divine Fortune has proven to be quite the little money-maker this year for owner William Pape, with his last paycheck coming in the form of the win in the $75,000 Meadowlands Grade II novice hurdle stakes on Sept. 21 in East Rutherford, N.J.

The 4-year-old son of Royal Anthem started his earnings spree back in May with a win in a maiden race at Radnor Hunt Races (Pa.). Since then, he has proceeded to place in the money at Saratoga (N.Y.) this summer, all in good company.

Usually chasers are turned out or sound asleep in their stalls at 8 p.m., but they all seemed to adapt well to a little lost sleep and the night racing steeplechase at the Meadowlands—now in its third year—has been a favorite prep race for the novice and stakes stars.

Trainer Jonathan Sheppard decided to try the young horse on the New Jersey course, thinking this distance at 2 miles might suit him better than some of the shorter races from the summer. At the Meadowlands,
several former winners from Colonial Downs (Va.) and Saratoga again challenged Divine Fortune, but the bettors saw he was only carrying a light 144 pounds, had faith, and soon made him and jockey Danielle Hodsdon the favorites.

From the start, Calvin Houghland’s Dr. Bloomer (James Slater) took the lead. The pair jumped well until the sixth fence, where Dr. Bloomer breasted the fence and sent Slater through the air in spectacular fashion. Dr. Bloomer was up fast and running with his comrades for the rest of the race. Except for his pride, Slater was uninjured in the mishap.

Armata Stable’s Dynaway (Cyril Murphy), Brigadoon Stable’s Gliding (William Dowling), and Dark Equation moved up to the front of the pack and appeared to be strong until the turn from home when Divine Fortune came on like a runaway freight train, blowing the doors off all the front runners and leaving them scrambling to catch up.

Divine Fortune cruised over the last fence, with Gliding and Dynaway in tow. Unfortunately Gliding crawled through the last fence, falling nastily on the other side. Dynaway could not avoid him and was also taken down in the spill.

Chip Miller still had a little horse left with Planet’s Aligned and was able to stay in contention for second place almost three strides behind Divine Fortune. McCarron took third with Dark Equation, and Long Lane Farm’s Swimming River (Paddy Young) finished fourth and last.

Hodsdon is pleased with Divine Fortune’s progress this year.

“He’s still so young,” Hodsdon said. “I have always thought he was a little immature for his age, but he has really grown so much this year. I don’t really think of him as having a great burst of speed, but when he gets his motor running he just rolls on. He has so much stamina and heart.”

Planet’s Aligned didn’t disappoint Miller. “I wouldn’t say we were cooked,” Miller said. “Danielle got the jump on me at the last turn, but I wasn’t fading either. I was still making up ground.”

But McCarron is still wondering why Dark Equation didn’t threaten. “I am hoping it was just the lights,” McCarron said. “He was jumping so tentatively. He’s not the most aggressive horse in the world, but he was definitely not himself. I just hope this does not hurt his confidence.”

Miller agreed that running under the lights does make the horses jump differently. “They can see well enough, it’s just not as clear as it is in sunlight,” Miller said. “My horse took a second look at a few fences and was jumping a little more cautiously then he normally does.”

Because of all the falls, there was a steward’s inquiry into the race, and the race was put on hold until the officials had reviewed the tapes. After about 30 minutes, they ruled Divine Fortune the winner. And while Dynaway and Gliding’s falls looked bad, both horses were checked out by veterinarians and appear to be relatively fine.

“Gliding is going to be okay. He’s a little sore and has a cut on his elbow where Dynaway stepped on him,” trainer Doug Fout said. “He just slipped on the take off.”

Bred by Sheppard and Pape, Divine Fortune has earned a little more than $142,280 this year and is ranked fourth in the National Steeplechase Association horses-money-won list. Divine Fortune is one of several horses in the Pape stable that have done well this year, including Mixed Up who sits in second at $159,215.

Pape is the leading owner going into  the fall season with $318,155 in winnings earned, and Sheppard is leading trainer at 17 wins to Jack Fisher’s 16 for the year so far. Divine Fortune is most likely headed for the $100,000 novice race at Far Hills (N.J.) on Oct. 20.

Sarah L. Greenhalgh