Denis of Cork Reboots After Tough Losses

ELMONT, N.Y., June 4 -- David Carroll looks at the Belmont Stakes as a second chance, an opportunity to prove his belief that his colt, Denis of Cork, was good enough to win the Kentucky Derby.

After three straight victories at three tracks this past winter, Denis of Cork rose to near the top of the ranks of the 3-year-old class, and Carroll plotted a course to Churchill Downs that went through the Rebel Stakes in March at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas followed a month later by the Arkansas Derby.

The horse's owner, William Warren, had other ideas, however. A strong adherent to the Ragozin Sheets, a well-respected handicapping tool, Warren believed Denis of Cork's pattern of progress suggested he would perform best on the first Saturday in May with just one more start, not the two Carroll had planned.

As often happens in racing, the owner had the final word. Denis of Cork wound up running April 5 in the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne and finished a well-beaten fifth as the even-money favorite.

"I felt we got off track," Carroll, 48, said Wednesday after the post position draw at Belmont Park. "I was very upset by it. Mr. Warren, in his belief, was doing what was best for the horse. He's a great man, but . . . you cannot get a horse ready to run a race, pull the plug and then expect to get him to run that race three weeks later.

"He never ran," Carroll said of the Illinois Derby. "He never ran."

Carroll took the horse to Churchill Downs and tried to get back on course, but expressed his frustration that he had lost control of Denis of Cork's schedule. Even so, the colt rallied well after a sluggish start and finished third behind Big Brown and Eight Belles, who broke down after the race.

Instead of pressing on in the Preakness, Carroll elected to remain at Churchill Downs and prepare for the Belmont. Denis of Cork has had three solid workouts in the interim, showing speed and power.

"His last two weeks have been excellent," Carroll said, describing the workouts as being "pre-Derby"-like. The final work, on Friday, was especially strong -- four furlongs in 48 1/5 seconds under jockey Robby Albarado, with the final eighth of a mile in a swift 11.1 seconds.

Carroll has been associated with wins over Belmont favorites in the past. Between 1984 and 1990, he was the exercise rider for trainer Shug McGaughey and galloped Easy Goer, who won the third leg of the Triple Crown in 1989 after losing the first two to Sunday Silence.

The following year, Carroll's brother, Raymond Carroll, also was involved with a Belmont-winning team as an assistant to Irish trainer Dermot Weld, who brought Go And Go to the United States and upset Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled.

"After the race, when he came back to the winner's circle, [jockey] Mick Kinane said, 'These are supposed to be the best horses in the country,' and Unbridled's behind him."

For the Belmont, Carroll replaced rider Calvin Borel, who won the Kentucky Derby last year on Street Sense, with Albarado, who has more experience riding at Belmont Park.

"I'm going in with a lot of confidence," Carroll said. "I've got the utmost respect for Big Brown, but we're here to win."