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Denis of Cork has been inspiring Derby talk since his impressive maiden victory at Churchill Downs in his first start. He followed that up with game win at Fair Grounds in January. A step into graded company produced a professional 2 1/4 victory in the Southwest Stakes (gr. III). By 2002 Derby favorite Harlan's Holiday out of an Unbridled mare, Denis of Cork should continue to move forward as the distances increase, but suffered his first setback when he ran an uncharacteristically dull race in the Illinois Derby (gr. II), checking in fifth. His rider felt he never really handled the Hawthorne surface, so trainer David Carroll took his colt back to his Churchill Downs base to prepare for the Kentucky Derby. There were some anxious days prior to entry, as Denis of Cork was sitting on the outside looking in with his rank of 21 on the graded earnings list. However, once the connections of Behindatthebar decided not to run, Denis of Cork was assured a spot in the starting gate.

Auction History

Year	Sale	Price
2006	OBS August Yearling Sale	$120,000
2007	Barretts March Two-Year Olds in Training	$250,000

Racing History

Date	Race Name	Distance	Finish	Earnings
04/05/08	Illinois Derby (gr. II)	9f	5	$15,000
02/18/08	Southwest Stakes (gr. III)	8f	1	$150,000
01/19/08	Allowance	1M40Y	1	$24,000
11/24/07	MSW	7f	1	$24,552
Record: 4 Starts, 3-0-0 | Total Earnings: $213,552
Race Records provided by equineline.com

By Steve Haskin

On Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs, a first-time starter by Harlan's Holiday named Denis of Cork broke his maiden at seven furlongs by three-quarters of a length. Although that might not sound like a big deal, from a visual standpoint, it was one of the most impressive maiden scores of the year.

As the field turned for home, Denis of Cork, still some five lengths off the lead, already looked like the winner. He had built up so much momentum and was moving with such powerful strides, you knew it was all over. Then, the Steve Asmussen-trained speedster, Stungbythestorm, accelerated and opened a clear lead, pulling away from everyone.except Denis of Cork. Despite Stungbythestorm coming home in :121/5, Denis of Cork still ran him down in a sharp 1:22.42. It was gap of 71/2 lengths back to the third-place finisher.

When Denis of Cork stretched out to two turns in a mile and 40-yard allowance race at Fair Grounds, he ran into the hard-knocking Unbridled Vicar, who had already made five starts and had never been worse than third. Denis of Cork again made his big move on the turn, but over the sloppy going, he was bit more tentative and hooked up with Unbridled Vicar. Despite giving away a good deal of seasoning and experience, he passed his first gut check, winning by a head. Unbridled Vicar then came back and finished a fast-closing fourth, beaten only 31/4 lengths, in the Risen Star Stakes (gr. III).

Then came the Southwest Stakes (gr. III), and Denis of Cork duplicated his maiden score with an emphatic victory to remain undefeated. He builds up so much momentum and generates so much power, his body is almost at a 45-degree angle turning for home. This is a top-class horse who is a joy to watch run, and he most certainly is destined for great things.

By Avalyn Hunter

So far, Denis of Cork has done everything right in his brief career. With the Southwest Stakes (gr. III) under his girth, the colt will doubtless be the favorite for Oaklawn Park's next Triple Crown prep race, the Rebel Stakes (gr. II).

Denis of Cork is from the first crop of Harlan's Holiday, who was one of the better members of the 1999 crop with grade I victories in the 2002 Florida Derby and Toyota Blue Grass Stakes and the 2003 Donn Handicap on his resumé. All three of his grade I wins were at nine furlongs, but he placed in three grade or group I races at 10 furlongs.

Harlan's Holiday is by Harlan, a son of Storm Cat and the stakes-winning Halo mare Country Romance. Harlan proved a durable but late-maturing sort who took his only stakes win at age 5 in the '94 Vosburgh (gr. I). He sired 102 foals before his death in February 1999, including another multiple grade I winner, Menifee. Harlan's Holiday was produced from the winning Affirmed mare Christmas in Aiken, whose granddam Princessnesian defeated males in the 1968 Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap.

Oddly, both Denis of Cork and Southwest Stakes runner-up Sierra Sunset belong to the family of the Quid Pro Quo mare Kay Ho, whose daughters include Toot Sweet (dam of Sierra Sunset) and stakes winner Kaylem Ho (by Salem). A fine producer, Kaylem Ho threw 15 winners from 16 foals, including Private Persuasion (by Pirate's Bounty), winner of the 1995 Vanity Invitational Handicap (gr. I); restricted stakes winner Sound Wisdom; and listed stakes winner Wishful Splendor (by Smart Strike), as well as three stakes-placed runners.

Denis of Cork was produced from Unbridled Girl, who placed in one of two starts. His pedigree certainly suggests that he should be able to get nine furlongs well, and if he has that extra spark that can carry him another eighth of a mile, he will be one to watch on the Triple Crown trail.

By Claire Novak

Trainer David Carroll does not run a mega stable. Instead, he heads up an operation that caters mostly to breeders and rarely dips into the claiming ranks. He could hardly be considered a household name. Still, from a barn of just 22 runners, the trainer has two horses on the trail to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I)-Dogwood Stable's Blackberry Road and William and Suzanne Warren Jr.'s Denis of Cork. He must be doing something right.

Carroll, 48, came to the United States from Ireland in 1985 after graduating from the Irish National Stud's Thoroughbred program. The son of a jockey, he had racing in his blood. Following a year with Taylor Made Farm, he signed on as an exercise rider for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. It was a fantastic experience, galloping horses like Easy Goer, Seeking the Gold, and Personal Flag. The lessons Carroll learned were priceless.

"The biggest thing I learned from Shug was patience," he said. "You don't get ahead of the horse; you let the horse tell you how to go. Also, Shug more or less always had his horses under one roof. He was very close to his horses, which I like from a training point."

"The best thing about David is that he's attentive to what's going on with the horses," said McGaughey. "He was a good horseman and good rider when he came to me, so when it was time to work with (top runners) I could trust him to do what I was asking him to do. He's patient with his horses and he tries to put them in the right places. He's very capable of what he's doing now."

After a six-year stint with McGaughey, Carroll served as an assistant for trainer Pete Vestal, whose clients included Cot Campbell of Dogwood Stable.

"I used him years ago when he first started and, for no reason other than logistics, we eventually drifted away," Campbell said. "Anyhow, we got back to using him, and I always thought he had the ingredients to make a successful trainer. First of all, he's an Irishman, and they're great horsemen. Second, he trained under Shug and knows a good horse when he's around one. He's a terribly conscientious fellow, honest, and a straight shooter. He's also had a fine career with some very good, useful horses."

Carroll made the leap to training on his own in the winter of 1993, and it took only two years for him to saddle his first graded stakes winners-J. Gottwald's grade III-winning Marshua's River and John Gunther's American Chance, winner of the Forego Handicap (gr. II) at Saratoga. He also conditioned Brad Anderson's hard-knocking gelding Devil Time to eight stakes wins over the course of four years and won the Riva Ridge Breeders' Cup Stakes (gr. II) at Belmont with Stan Fulton's Fire Slam. Overall, Carroll has saddled the winners of 40 black-type races, with nine of them graded, thus far.

"I feel we get the most out of every horse," the trainer said of his operation. “We take our time with them, and I take great pride in how my horses look and run. I’m very hands on and get on a lot of these runners myself, and I feel as a stable that’s one of our strong points.”

“I think he’s paid his dues,” McGaughey said. “Hopefully
one of these (3-year-olds) will move his career to the next level.”

“I’m very proud to have these horses in my barn,” Carroll
said. “With Denis (of Cork), the one thing I love about him is how tall, leggy, and athletic he is. He’s out of an Unbridled mare and reminds me a lot of Unbridled. Just watching him grow and develop has been a tremendous experience for me. I learned a lot from watching him mature.Now he has this great confidence and, hopefully, we’ll be able to maintain that.”

In spite of the heady feeling of having potential Derby contenders under his care, Carroll remains mostly down to earth. He attends to his own string, spending the winter in New Orleans and the other months in Louisville with his wife, Kim, and children, Aisling (12) and Declan (8).

“Good horses will make you look good,” he said. “This has all been a dream of mine ever since before I went to work for Shug, and I worked awfully hard to get to this point. Sometimes you get a little luck to go along with the hard work and get nice horses from good owners. We’re still in the very early days with these 3-year-olds yet, but we’ll keep our fingers crossed and let the horses do the talking.”