Talk about local connections! Hardest Core, trained by Eddie Graham of Unionville and owned by Andrew Bentley, son of Greg and Caroline Bentley, won the Arlington Million Turf race on Saturday in Arlington Parks, Illinois, with Eriluis Vaz in the irons. The win, with a purse of $1 million, means the Kentucky-bred four-year-old will head to the prestigious Breeders' Cup Turf on Nov. 1.
According to the report in "The Blood-Horse," "Hardest Core upset Arlington's biggest day at odds of 11-1 to secure his first graded stakes score, let alone grade I victory. Closing outside from third off the turn with tremendous strides, he gobbled up ground to run down dueling rivals Magician, winner of the 2013 Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT), and Side Glance, a grade I winner in Australia."
And hats off to two indispensable parts of the Hardest Core team as well: Jody Petty, his exercise rider, and Brianne Slater, his groom. Both are Unionville residents.
The press has shown special interest in Hardest Core, not only for his dramatic, against-the-odds win but also for the family story of the Bentleys (Andrew Bentley has Down syndrome) and the horse's proven toughness: he almost died after he was gelded.
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