Casse Assistant Carroll No Stranger to KY Derby
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
David Carroll, assistant to trainer Mark Casse
Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) prospects Helium and Soup and Sandwich are both inexperienced, having made just three starts apiece, but the same can't be said of those preparing them for the Run for the Roses.
Their trainer, Hall of Famer Mark Casse, has won over 3,000 races including the 2019 Preakness Stakes (G1) with War of Will and that year's Belmont Stakes (G1) with Sir Winston . He has also run eight horses in the Derby, his best finish a fourth from Classic Empire in 2017.
Nor is Casse the only one from within his staff with Derby experience. David Carroll, his Kentucky assistant, trained Dennis of Cork to a third in the 2008 Derby. Even before his training career that lasted from 1992-2016, Carroll gained Triple Crown fame as the exercise rider for the Shug McGaughey-trained Easy Goer, winner of the 1989 Belmont Stakes and second to Sunday Silence in the Derby and Preakness.
Speaking from atop a pony on the Churchill Downs backstretch April 25 while awaiting a horse to escort back to the Casse stable, Carroll was quick to smile at the mention of Easy Goer.
"I saw replays of him winning the Gotham the other day and it brought back a lot of good memories. They were good times," he said.
BloodHorse Plus: Casse Assistant Carroll Talks Helium, Soup and Sandwich
Perhaps more memories can be made by Helium or Soup and Sandwich. Both 3-year-olds have already left a mark on the Derby trail. D. J. Stable's Helium scored in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) to improve to 3-for-3, and Live Oak Plantation's Soup and Sandwich won his first two starts before a second to Known Agenda in the Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa (G1).
Carroll has overseen three works from the pair this month at Churchill Downs, calling Helium, a son of Ironicus , "a very forward training horse, beautiful moving horse" with a "great personality," and Soup and Sandwich a colt with a "lot of raw talent." A gray, Soup and Sandwich is difficult to miss.
Soup and Sandwich in his stall at Churchill Downs
"He is probably one of the only gray Into Mischiefs that I have seen—he is out of a Tapit mare. I think some of that greenness and immaturity comes from the Tapit line, but we all know they're very talented," Carroll said. "If he figures things out next Saturday we'll be in great shape."
Though Carroll is focused on racing at Churchill this week, he is sure to keep at least one eye on Illinois racing. His son Declan is a jockey and recently shifted his tack there leading toward the Arlington Park meet that begins April 30.
"He rode yesterday at Hawthorne, his first rides up there, in preparation to ride for the summer meet," Carroll said Sunday. "The winter went well. He got a lot of experience, a lot of rides. He's improving on the job. He absolutely loves it. He's getting better every day and he works at it."
Still working at it, too, is his father—who has another couple more Derby opportunities to savor on Saturday.