1981 Challenge Cup Trot - Roosevelt Raceway

WESTBURY, L.I., Aug. 1— The two French horses in the field, Jorky and Ideal du Gazeau, finished in a dead heat tonight in the most exciting finish in the 23-year history of Challenge Cup trotting at Roosevelt Raceway.

Never in a major stakes race here have two horses reached the wire together. Ideal du Gazeau, who beat Jorky by a neck in the Roosevelt International last week, achieved the dead heat despite breaking gait at the top of the stretch and having to rally again in the final strides.

After the finish, the operator of the tote board reversed the payoffs, but the track parimutuel clerks paid out the correct amounts: $2.60 for $2 on Ideal du Gazeau and $2.40 for $2 on Jorky. Super Marty, a 36-1 shot, finished third in the mile-and-a-half race.

''Oui, oui, oui, oui,'' said Leopold Verroken, driver of Jorky, when asked if this race, which carried a purse of $100,000, was the best confrontation between the two horses. Ideal du Gazeau had taken a 5-4 lead in their series with his triumph in the International last Saturday night. French Horses Move

The Swedish horse, Pamir Brodde, led almost all the way until the field reached the top of the stretch. Then, the French horses, who had been stalking the leader, made their move. Ideal du Gazeau, on the rail, broke stride momentarily on the turn for home, and Jorky moved up to challenge.

Through the stretch they trotted, with Jorky on the outside leading by perhaps a neck, but Eugene Lefevre, whipping Ideal du Gazeau, got his horse even at the wire. Their 3:05 2/5 clocking was the second fastest for the mile and a half, with only the 3:01 3/5 by Kash Minbar in 1977 surpassing it.

''The break cost me two lengths,'' Lefevre said through an interpreter. ''I would have won the race.'' This was the first time this season that Ideal du Gazeau broke stride, and Lefevre said the break had been caused by the half-mile track and its tight turns. Most European tracks are wider and a mile around and have gradual turns.

''I had trouble getting my horse around the turns,'' said Lefevre, who last year drove Ideal du Gazeau to a dead heat for second in the International. He said that race was a learning experience that has helped him here this year.

Lefevre said he was confident that his horse could catch Jorky ''because he is faster in the stretch.'' But Jorky is sometimes as unpredictable as he is fast.

Jorky was so upset by the activity in the paddock before the International last week that he almost bolted. At Verroken's request, the horse was moved to a quiet stable in the corner and approached the Challenge Cup more placidly. Raced on the Outside

Both Jorky and Ideal du Gazeau trotted on the outside for much of the distance tonight, not an unusual tactic on European tracks. When Ideal du Gazeau moved to the rail at the head of the stretch, which was unusual for him, he could have been caught in a bad position. But Lefevre did not expect anyone to catch his horse.

By JAMES TUITE, from NY Times