MIDDLEBURG, Va.--Exceptional results at the Virginia Fall Races on Saturday, Oct. 10 included a dead heat between two maidens in the 3-Year-Old Hurdle Stakes and the defeat of Keys Discount in the Timber Stakes, stopping his record of eight straight stakes wins.

Private Larry, right, leads Norris over last in OKeefe with Lost Kitty in background ((Photo by tod Marks)Lost Kitty, owned by Joseph F. Fowler, Jr, trained by Kate Dalton and ridden by Bernie Dalton, and Private Larry, owned by Silverton Hill, trained by Leslie Young and ridden by Freddie Proctor, finished in a dead heat in the $50,000, 2 1/8 mile Will O'Keefe Memorial 3-Year-Old Hurdle Stakes.

Private Larry led over the final fence, with Lost Kitty third behind Norris, but Lost Kitty powered through the stretch to catch Private Larry at the wire.

Not only is a dead heat a very rare occurrence, particularly in a stakes race, it's even more unusual that it was a pair of maiden hurdle horses that won the stakes race. 

Lost Kitty had never even run over fences before, and Private Larry had run just once over hurdles in Ireland, and this was his first race in the States.

Plus, Lost Kitty is a filly, and she was running against five geldings. 

 

"WE HAD entered Lost Kitty in the maiden race at Shawan Downs, but it didn't fill," said Dalton. "We were thinking about running her at Foxfield, but we decided it would be better to run her in a six horse stakes race rather than at Foxfield against a field of 11 maidens. Foxfield ended up being rainy, so not a place you'd want to run a maiden."

"We thought maybe she could run fourth or fifth and pick up a check in a stakes races," said Dalton. "She shocked all of us when she won. She ran really well."

"We've never had a dead heat before," said Dalton. "I've only seen one in all the years I've been training. It was cool. Both horses ran really well."

"It ended up being a fun race" she said. "It was neat that it was run in Will O'Keefe's honor. He would have loved calling a dead head."

"I had planned to run her in the maiden at Far Hills," said Dalton. "Now we'll probably run her in the 3-year--old race at Camden."

"Being in a dead heat is better than finishing second," said Young. "We'd entered Private Larry at Shawan Downs, but that didn't fill."

"Private Larry came to us in the beginning of September from Ireland," said Young. "He'd won on the flat in Ireland and run once over hurdles, where he was third. After Shawan Downs not fillng I was looking for a 3-year-old race and this looked great. It gave him more time to recover from his trip from Ireland."

"There's no one else I'd rather share a win with than Kate and Bernie," said Young. 

"He'll either go in the next 3-year-old race or maybe Camden," said Young. "He's only 3 and he had a hard season in Ireland, so I wouldn't be averse to putting him away for the winter."

Noah And The Ark (Ire), owned by Keystone Thoroughbreds, trained by Todd McKenna and ridden by Harry Beswick, won the $50,000, 3 1/4 mile Timber Stakes by 3 lengths over Keys Discount, trained by Jack Fisher, and Uco Valley (Ire), trained by Young.

Noah And The Ark, a multiple stakes winner over hurdles, was running in his third race over timber after winning in a maiden timber race at Shawan Downs.

With his win, Noah stopped Keys Discount's skein of eight straight wins in stakes races over timber.

Keys Discount will run again at the Gold Cup, so he and Noah may meet again this year.

Young saddled a second winner with Michael Smith's Foxy Walk, ridden by Procter, who won the $20,000,, 2 5/8 miles Steeeplethon by 3 lengths over Quick Master, trained by Tom Garner, and Anzio, trained by Sandra Webb.

Kathy Neilson saddled Commonwealth Racing's Deflected, ridden by Procter, to win the $40,000, 2 1/8 mile maiden Hurdle over Really Good, trained by Matthew Sims, and De La Cruz, trained by Julie Gomena.

Ricky Hendriks saddle Runnymoore Racing's Highwayman to win the $30,000 Maiden Starter/Maiden Claiming Hurdle by 7 1/4 lengths over Day and Age, trained by Todd Wyatt, and Run Forrest Run, trained by William Wofford.

Fisher had a winner with Riverdee Stable's Renfro's Reception, ridden by Jamie Bargary, who won the $35,000 Rating Handicap  Hurdle by 1/2 length over L'Avvocato (Ire), trained by Nelson, and Missionaire, trained by Neil Morris.

Navid, owned by Mrs.George Ohrstron Jr., trained by Barry Foley and ridden by Beswick, won the $30,000 Maiden Starter/Maiden Claiming second division by a neck over Showpiece, trained by Garner, and Hard Spun to Run, trained by Neilson.

Keri Brion saddled Moonshine Time (Ire), owned by Atlantic Friends Racing and Molly and Paul Willis and ridden by Stephen Mulqueen, to win the $20,000, 3 mile Maiden Timber by 6 lengths over Evie's Prince, trained by Morris, and Karl Cares, trained by Gomena.