Wiredfortwotwenty, Ha Ha Tonka take holiday sprint stakes

ALTOONA, Iowa - The sprinters Wiredfortwotwenty and Ha Ha Tonka took the co-featured Prairie Express and Prairie Rose, both $60,000 guaranteed stakes events contested over six furlongs, on Memorial Day at Prairie Meadows.

In the Prairie Express, which drew a field of five, Wiredfortwotwenty stalked the pace of the Steve Asmussen-trained Kajiwara, pounced at the quarter pole and edged well clear to score by 3 1/2 lengths in an impressive 1:08.10. Wiredfortwotwenty ($17.40), trained locally by Bart Hone and ridden by veteran Jake Barton, is a 6-year-old gelded son of Greatness who will be pointed toward the Iowa Festival of Racing’s $125,000 Prairie Meadows Sprint Handicap on June 24.

The race was marred by a fatal injury to Wiredfortwotwenty's stablemate, Chimney Sweep, who was making a contending bid on the turn when he fell. The Maggi Moss-owned Native Ruler, sent off the 7-10 favorite, steadied behind his fallen rival before running on strongly to earn the place spot.
Wiredfortwotwenty earned $36,000 for connections.

In the Prairie Rose, for fillies and mares pointing to the Festival’s $100,000 Saylorville, the lightly-raced and determined Ha Ha Tonka fended off the persistent challenge of Smoky Belle by three-quarters of a length. The pacesetting Ha Ha Tonka ($4.80), ridden by Israel Ocampo for trainer Dan Peitz, blazed through an opening half-mile in a wind-aided 43.59 seconds. Despite running into a fierce headwind in the stretch, Ha Ha Tonka still managed to stop the clock in 1:09.85.

Ha Ha Tonka, a 4-year-old daughter of Distorted Humor making her stakes debut, earned $36,000 for holding her seven rivals at bay.