Bruce Smart’s Orchestra Leader pulled away after the final fence to notch a 2 1/2-length victory in the $30,000 Daniel Van Clief Memorial, the featured optional allowance hurdle of Saturday’s Foxfield Spring Races.
Irv Naylor’s Jamarjo finished second, 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Hishi Soar, last year’s Van Clief winner.
Orchestra Leader and Jamarjo jumped the last fence together, with Orchestra Leader showing the stronger late kick under jockey Keri Brion.
Trained by Jimmy Day, Orchestra Leader notched his second Van Clief win in three years, with a second-place finish last year. He also won the featured optional allowance hurdle at the 2016 Foxfield Fall meet.
The Van Nistelrooy gelding ran the Van Clief Memorial’s 2 1/8 miles in 4:05 on turf rated as good.