Smarty Hardy wins Freshman, continues to impress

Smarty Hardy continued his dominance in the 2-year-old division at Prairie Meadows on Saturday night, when he darted to a three-length win in the $100,000 Freshman.

He is now 3 for 3 in his career, with his wins coming by a combined margin of 17 1/2 lengths.

Smarty Hardy ($3.60) won his debut by 4 1/2 lengths July 13 at Prairie Meadows, then, after the maiden special weight, won a division of the track’s Iowa Stallion Futurity. He rolled by 10 lengths in the race run July 25, then came back to win the Freshman over Express Kid.

Smarty Hardy on Saturday sat off a opening quarter in 22.13 seconds, moved to the lead through a half-mile in 45.01 seconds, and went on to cover the six furlongs on a track rated fast in 1:10.16.

Kylee Jordan rode the winner for trainer Todd Jordan.

Smarty Hardy is a son of Stroll who races for Don Hansen. The Nebraska-bred is out of the Smarty Jones mare Smarty Party. For the win in the Freshman, Smarty Hardy equaled his best Beyer Speed Figure, a 75.

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