The undefeated 2-year-old Smarty Hardy is making some special memories on the track for trainer Todd Jordan and his daughter, jockey Kylee Jordan.
The son of Stroll won his second straight stakes race of the Prairie Meadows meet last weekend in the $100,000 Freshman. Prior to the start, Smarty Hardy romped by 10 lengths in a division of the Iowa Stallion Futurity.
“It was my first stakes win ever,” said Todd Jordan. “And the last win with Smarty, that was my 100th win.”
Kylee was aboard for both of the milestone victories for her father, whose first career win as a trainer came in 2007 at Fonner Park. He’s had 728 starts, with 14 of those coming in stakes races.
“I started out in Nebraska and now Iowa’s home for me,” said Todd Jordan.
Interestingly enough, it was his connection to Nebraska racing that brought Smarty Hardy into his stable at Prairie Meadows.
“Dave Anderson bred him and years ago I used to gallop for Anderson,” Todd Jordan said of the Nebraska-based trainer. “And just out of the blue, he called me up.”
Jordan said Anderson contacted him about working with a 3-year-old that needed some additional gate instruction and also said he had a 2-year-old he’d like to send to Prairie Meadows.
“They just don’t have 2-year-old races there in Nebraska,” Jordan said. “I guess he broke out nice and Dave thought he was nice and called me up.”
Donald Hansen owns the Nebraska-bred Smarty Hardy and raced his dam, Smarty Party. A daughter of recent Hall of Fame entrant Smarty Jones, Smarty Party won 13 races and was trained by Anderson.
Smarty Hardy has won his three starts by a combined margin of 17 1/2 lengths. He’s earned Beyer Speed Figures of 75 for each of his stakes wins, and the numbers are the highest put up by a 2-year-old this meet at Prairie Meadows.
Smarty Hardy was a three-length winner of the Prairie Freshman, covering the six-furlong distance in a sharp 1:10.16.
“I told my daughter to just kind of the let them guys go,” Todd Jordan said. “Smarty doesn’t break the hardest, but three jumps he’s back up with them. I said, ‘Let them guys go and just kind of rate him and sit off of them, and when you’re ready, go.’ ”
Todd Jordan said the manner in which Smarty Hardy won the Freshman is one reason he plans to move him to two turns next month at Prairie Meadows.
“There’s a race coming up on Sept. 6, a flat mile for 2-year-olds,” he said of the $75,000 Bison Strides. “He can sit and rate and he’s a manageable horse. You don’t have to fly out there and be on the lead. I think he can just sit out there, and the way he kind of draws off on them down the lane, I think he can go farther.”
Jordan said after the Prairie Meadows meet ends, he will freshen his stable, which now numbers about 20 horses. From there, he plans to winter at Oaklawn Park.
For the Jordans, there appears to be much to look forward to with Smarty Hardy.
“He’s a classy horse,” Todd Jordan said. “He’s nice to be around, and he can run.”
* Canterbury Park announced purses for the Blair’s Cove Minnesota Turf and the Bella Notte Minnesota Distaff Sprint have both been increased to $50,000. As such, they will be run as stakes on the Minnesota Festival of Champions card Sept. 6. The races were originally written as allowances and both had purses of $30,000.
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