A lad from the old sod

If you've never heard an Irish accent mixed with a slight Southern drawl, you ought to listen to trainer David Carroll. Born in County Meath, he did an internship at the National Stud in County Kildare, the heart of Irish horse country. Carroll, 48, worked six years as an exercise rider for Shug McGaughey, a native of Lexington, Ky., who attended the University of Mississippi. Shug never has lost his down-home country twang, so maybe Carroll picked up a bit of it from him, and living in Louisville has kept it alive.

Carroll went to the 1988 and 1989 Kentucky Derbys with Shug, Seeking the Gold and Easy Goer. He was around plenty of other stars trained by McGaughey, including Personal Ensign, Personal Flag, Rhythm and Dancing Spree, so he knows the Triple Crown drill and how to recognize a special animal. Since opening his own stable in 1992, Carroll has trained numerous stakes-winners but never saddled a horse in America's Race. If the undefeated Denis of Cork stays healthy and in sharp form, he'll be Carroll's first.

Owner William Warren Jr. named the colt for a close friend, a County Cork priest named Denis Casey. Ireland, the birthplace of steeplechasing, prizes thoroughbreds with staying power, and Denis of Cork has the pedigree (by 2002 Florida Derby/Blue Grass winner Harlan's Holiday out of a mare sired by 1990 Kentucky Derby/Breeders' Cup Classic champion Unbridled) to get the 1 1/4-mile Derby distance. He won his debut last November at Churchill Downs at 7 furlongs, a rarity, before taking a mile and 40-yard allowance race at the Fair Grounds in January and the mile Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 18.

"He's a big, rangy horse," Carroll said. "He's done nothing wrong so far, and he's improving. He has the potential to be a nice horse, and his best race is yet to come."

The plan is to give Denis of Cork only one more prep before the Derby, with the likeliest spot the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct or the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne. Both races are on April 5, four weeks from Derby Day.

Denis of Cork has won at three tracks and can come from far back or track slow fractions, so versatility is no problem. Carroll's main concern is his light frame. "He's not a robust horse by any means," he said. "I'm always trying to keep weight on him, but he runs well fresh and is very professional . . .

"We want to get another good, hard race into him, and at a mile and an eighth. He has enough [graded-stakes] earnings, so we would be using that race as more of a conditioning tool. He doesn't have to win. Now it's just a question of getting him to the Derby in one piece and moving forward."