Love Divine (12 February 1997 – 7 February 2025) was a British

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

best known for winning The Oaks in 2000. In a racing career which lasted from August 2000 to June 2001 the

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...

ran six times and won two races. After being beaten in her only race as a two-year-old, Love Divine won the Listed

Lupe Stakes Lupe is a given name, short for ''Guadalupe'', and may refer to: People * Lupe Aquino (born 1963), Mexican boxer * Lupe Fiasco (born 1982), American hip hop artist * Lupe Ontiveros (1942–2012), Mexican-American film and television actress * Lup ...

on her three-year-old debut and then won the

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

Oaks over one and a half miles at

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

. She was beaten in her three remaining races, finishing second in the

Yorkshire Oaks The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile ...

and fourth in both the

Prix Vermeille The Prix Vermeille is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles) ...

and the

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong a ...

Background

Love Divine was a bay mare owned and bred by Trevor Harris's Lordship Stud in

Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, 14 miles west of Bury St Edmunds and 14 miles northeast of Cambridge. In 2021, it had a population of 16,772. It is a global ...

. Her sire Diesis won the rare double of the

Middle Park Stakes The Middle Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it i ...

and the

Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mi ...

in 1982, before becoming an "excellent" breeding stallion, producing the winners of at least 25 Group One races including Halling, Diminuendo and Elmaamul. Love Divine's dam, La Sky finished second in the Lancashire Oaks and was a half-sister of the Champion Stakes winner Legal Case. The filly, who was named after the popular hymn by

Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English Anglican cleric and a principal leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It ...

, was sent into training with

Henry Cecil Sir Henry Richard Amherst Cecil (11 January 1943 – 11 June 2013) was a British flat racing horse trainer. Cecil was very successful, becoming Champion Trainer ten times and training 25 domestic Classic winners. These comprised four winners o ...

at his Warren Place stable in Newmarket and was ridden in five of her six races by Richard Quinn. Love Divine died on 7 February 2025, at the age of 27.

Racing career

Love Divine made only one appearance as a two-year-old, starting 6/5 favourite for a seven

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

maiden race In horse racing, a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the s ...

Doncaster Racecourse Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's List of British flat horse races#Group 1, 36 annual Group One, Group 1 flat races, the St Leger ...

in November. Ridden by the veteran jockey

Pat Eddery Patrick James John Eddery (18 March 1952 – 10 November 2015) was an Irish flat racing jockey and trainer. He rode three winners of the Derby and was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions. He rode the winners of 4,632 British flat races, a f ...

, she led briefly in the straight before finishing second, two and a half lengths behind the winner Hopeful Light. In early 2000, Love Divine was affected by a viral infection which disrupted her training and prevented her from running in the early trial races. She did not appear again on a racecourse until 24 May 2000, two weeks before the Oaks, when she ran in the Listed Lupe Stakes over ten furlongs at Goodwood. Richard Quinn positioned the filly at the back of the six-runner field before moving forward in the straight. She took the lead a quarter of the mile from the finish and drew clear of her opponents to win by four lengths from the favourite Spinning Top. Following this performance, Love Divine's owners paid a supplementary entry fee of £15,000 to run the filly in the Oaks. At Epsom on 9 June, Love Divine started 9/4 favourite for the Oaks ahead of the Musidora Stakes winner Kalypso Katie, and

Petrushka Petrushka ( rus, Петру́шка, p=pʲɪtˈruʂkə, a=Ru-петрушка.ogg) is a stock character of Russian folk puppetry. It was first introduced by traveling Italian performers in the first third of the 19th century during a period of W ...

, the beaten favourite in the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile ...

. In a slowly run race, Quinn placed the filly among the leaders from the start and turned into the straight in second place behind Lady Upstage. Two furlongs from the finish, Love Divine went to the front and opened up a clear lead. despite hanging slightly to the right, she ran on strongly in the closing stages to win by two lengths from Kalypso Katie, Melikah and Petrushka. The win gave Henry Cecil a fourth Oaks win in five years and was a second Classic success for Quinn, who had recently taken over from

Kieren Fallon Kieren Francis Fallon (born 22 February 1965 in Crusheen, County Clare, Ireland) is a retired Irish professional flat racing jockey and was British flat racing Champion Jockey, British Champion Jockey six times. Care ...

as the Warren Place stable jockey. After the race, Cecil described the winner as a very good filly who had done well to recover from the illness he described as "that lung thing". A recurrence of her earlier health problems meant that Love Divine was unable to race again for more than two months. The Yorkshire Oaks at

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

in August saw Love Divine matched the 1999 Champion Filly

Ramruma Ramruma (foaled 17 February 1996) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse who was bred in the United States, but trained in the United Kingdom during a racing career which lasted from September 1998 until September 2000. In 1999, Ramruma won five of ...

, with Petrushka, who had won the

Irish Oaks The Irish Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it ...

in the interim, also in the field. The meeting of the three outstanding fillies was highly anticipated as one of the "races of the season". Love Divine moved past Ramruma to take the lead in the straight but was overtaken by Petrushka a furlong from the finish and was beaten one and a quarter lengths. Love Divine was then sent to France to contest the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp in September. She led the field early in the straight but weakened in the closing stages to finish fourth, three and three quarter lengths behind the winner Volvoreta. On her final appearance returned to England and was brought back in distance for the Champion Stakes over ten furlongs at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

in October. Racing against colts for the first time she finished fourth of the fifteen runners behind

Kalanisi Kalanisi (27 March 1996 – 25 May 2023) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who won European Champion and American Champion honours in 2000. Background Bred and raced by H.H. Aga Khan IV, Kalanisi was out of the mare Kalamba, a daughter of Green ...

Montjeu Montjeu (4 April 1996 – 29 March 2012) was an Irish-bred, French-trained thoroughbred horse racing racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from September 1998 to November 2000, he ran sixteen times and won eleven races, including ...

and

Distant Music Distant Music (foaled 3 February 1997) is an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (horse), sire. Bred and owned by Khalid ibn Abdullah, Khalid Abdullah he was trained throughout his racing career in England by Barry Hil ...

. It was intended that Love Divine would race as a four-year-old, but was retired on veterinary advice in November 2000 after developing problems with her

fetlock Fetlock is the common name in horses, large animals, and sometimes dogs for the metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints (MCPJ and MTPJ). Although it somewhat resembles the human ankle in appearance, the joint is homologous to the ...

Assessment and honours

In the 2000 International Classification (the forerunner of the

World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings The Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (LWBRR), known as World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings (WTRR) before 2012, are horseracing's equivalent to World Rankings by other major sporting organizations such as ATP Tennis Rankings, World Golf R ...

), Love Divine was given a rating of 120, making her the equal sixth best three-year-old filly in the world (and the fourth best in Europe), six pounds below the top-rated Egyptband. The independent

Timeform Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by th ...

organisation gave Love Divine a rating of 120.

Stud record

Love Divine was retired to become a broodmare for the Lordship Stud. Her second foal was

Sixties Icon Sixties Icon (foaled 14 February 2003), is a retired British Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire (horse), sire. In a career which lasted from April 2006 until November 2008, he ran seventeen times and won eight races. He recorded his most imp ...

, sired by

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

who won six Group races including the

St Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...

in 2006.Racing Post
/ref> 2002 Love Me Well (GB) : Bay colt, foaled 1 January, by Sadler's Wells (USA) – placed second twice from three starts in France 2005. Died 2006. 2003 Sixties Icon (GB) : Bay colt, foaled 16 February, by Galileo (IRE) – Won 8 races including G1 St Leger Stakes, Doncaster; G2 Jockey Club Stakes, Newmarket; G3 Gordon Stakes, Goodwood; G3 Glorious Stakes, Goodwood; G3 Geoffrey Freer Stakes, Newbury; G3 Cumberland Lodge Stakes, Ascot; LR Festival Stakes, Goodwood in England 2006-8 2004 Kissing (GB) : Chestnut filly, foaled 25 February, by Grand Lodge (USA) – won once from three starts in England 2007 2005 Foal by Red Ransom (USA) 2006 Native Ruler (GB) : Bay colt, foaled 19 March, by Cape Cross (IRE) – winner and 2nd G2 Jockey Club Stakes, Newmarket and 4th G2 Yorkshire Cup, York in England 2009–11 2010 Hamelin (IRE) : Bay colt (gelded), foaled 31 March, by Cape Cross (IRE) – won 3 races and placed 5 times from 13 starts to date (12/06/16) in England 2013–16 2011 Touch The Sky (GB) : Brown colt (gelded), foaled 1 April, by Sea the Stars (IRE) – won 2 races, third and fourth once from 6 starts to date (12/06/16) in England 2013–16 2012 Arabian Oasis (GB) : Bay colt (gelded), foaled 5 April, by Oasis Dream (GB) – won 1 race and 2nd once from 8 starts on the flat and placed third once from 2 start overs hurdles to date (12/06/16)in England 2014–16 2013 Cecile (GB): Bay filly, foaled 11 April, by Dansili (GB)- Unraced 2014 Broodmare aborted 2015 Clooney (GB): Bay colt (gelded), foaled 21 March, by Dansili (GB)- one place in 5 starts 2016 Loveheart (GB): Bay filly, foaled 18 April, by Dubawi (IRE)- winless in 5 starts 2017 Heiress (GB): Bay filly, foaled 2 May, by Kingman (GB)- one win in 2 starts 2018 Not bred 2019 Unnamed chestnut colt, foaled 21 April by Australia (GB)

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1997 racehorse births 2025 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 14-c Epsom Oaks winners