In what was likely his best effort to date, American-bred Divine Force comfortably defeated challengers to win Division Two of the Vestia Trophy feature on Saturday, December 30, 2023.

The Philip Feanny’s Divine Force was spectacular in his gallop, laying beautifully on his way to a 6 3/4-length win in the Restricted Stakes contest over 7 ½ furlongs (1,500m) in a time of 1:32.2.

Feanny said that he expects Divine Force to continue to improve as he steps up to the Overnight Allowance level.

“The season hasn’t been bad; I am just disappointed with some of the horses who I thought would have come along in the end part of the year and done better but in 2024 let’s see. He [Divine Force] is a nice colt with a lot of ability but he has a few quirks and we are working on it. He will be going next in Overnight Allowance company,” Feanny told the Jamaica Observer‘s The Supreme Racing Guide.

Divine Force, with Tevin Foster in the irons, took off nicely at the start of the race and coupled up to go down in second position behind Joy Is Gold (Roger Hewitt) down the backstretch. Foster wasted no time in sending Divine Force to the lead from the five-furlong (1,000m) mark, and from there, it was smooth sailing for the three-year-old bay colt.

Divine Force turned for home with a comfortable lead and carried on well in deep stretch to win ahead of All For Love (Dane Dawkins) and Superio (Shane Richardson) at the wire.

Foster was also pleased with the effort of Divine Force.

“I rode this horse the other day and so the more I get on him, the more I get to know him. The other day, the race was set up that we had a genuine speed horse and he took control of the race and won and we finished second.

“However, I found out that my horse is a pace horse and so all I had to do was to get him rolling early, get the best position, and when we reached the quarter pole I asked him to run and I did and we came out victorious,” Foster said.