Smart refusal to be put out of the race (5)

I believe the answer is:

natty

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'smart' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'refusal to be put out of the race' is the wordplay.
'refusal' becomes 'no'.
'to be put out' is a deletion indicator.
'of' becomes 'o''.
'the race' becomes 'atty' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'no' with 'o' taken out is 'n'.
'n'+'atty'='NATTY'

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(Other definitions for natty that I've seen before include "Informally neat and well-dressed" , "Stylish" , "Smart, spruce" , "Flashily smart" , "Stylishly dressed" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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