Bill Pape’s Divine Fortune set all the pace in the $100,000 Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup (NSA-I) Nov. 15 and drew away to a dominating nine-length victory.
An 11-year-old Royal Anthem gelding bred by Pape and trainer Jonathan Sheppard, Divine Fortune jumped brilliantly at the Springdale Race Course in Camden, S.C., and brought down the curtain on the 2014 season with a tour de force performance under jockey Darren Nagle.
Sheppard’s Barnstorming finished second, a nose ahead of Jacqueline Ohrstrom’s Demonstrative, who had won grade I hurdle races in his three previous starts. Divine Fortune ran the Colonial Cup’s 2 3/4 miles in 5:13.40 on firm turf.
Divine Fortune ends the year with $195,000 in purse earnings, while Demonstrative took the National Steeplechase Association’s “Lonesome Glory Champions Award” with purse earnings of $362,500.
In his previous start, Demonstrative won the $250,000 Grand National (NSA-I) by 3 3/4 lengths over Divine Fortune, who set the pace until the final fences.
Divine Fortune won 2013 Grand National on his way to the Eclipse Award, and in this year’s edition gave an indication he was was coming back into top form. He won the $150,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois (NSA-I) in his first start this year but was pulled up in his subsequent start, the A. P. Smithwick Memorial (NSA-I), and then fell at the last fence of the $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup (NSA-I), also won by Demonstrative.
Divine Fortune broke sharply in the Colonial Cup and opened an immediate six-length lead. Under Robbie Walsh, Demonstrative settled into third position in company with Sue Sensor’s Carolina Cup winnerTop Striker.
Although the margins tightened on the second circuit of the Springdale course, Divine Fortune continued to jump brilliantly for Nagle, who missed the spring season with a broken leg sustained in a training accident.
“The way he was jumping on the backside, you couldn’t have asked for anything better.” Pape said.
After taking the last fence in stride, Divine Fortune willingly widened his advantage to the finish line.
Richard Valentine, Demonstrative’s trainer, said he did not believe Demonstrative was compromised by having to remain close to Divine Fortune’s uncontested lead.
“Robbie said he wasn’t his usual aggressive self,” the Virginia-based trainer said.
The stakes-placed Northern Fling mare My Tombola is the dam of Divine Fortune.