Got Stormy’s Dream Team

Our Midwest Racing Manager Assistant, Abbey Huffman, recently interviewed two very important people in Got Stormy’s everyday life. Please enjoy this wonderful story about David and Kim Carroll, written by Abbey:

Horse racing is a sport known to bring families together, and that is the case for the Carroll family. Now a key part of the Mark Casse operation, David and his wife, Kim Carroll, first met at Belmont Park. David was galloping and assisting Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey and was the regular exercise rider for superstar Easy Goer, the champion 2-year-old colt of 1988. At the time they met, Kim had been working on the racetrack for about a year, and was galloping horses for Hall of Fame trainer Mackenzie Miller. Shortly after they got married, David opened his own stable in 1992, and went on to train 17 graded stakes winners and became a respected horseman over the course of his career. In 2016, David was down on horses and dispersed his stable for an opportunity to be Casse’s assistant trainer, a move which has proved to be very successful for the native of Ireland.

Both of the Carroll’s children are involved in the horse industry. Their oldest daughter, Aisling, is a successful event rider who works for Olympian Phillip Dutton. Their son, Declan, is now a professional jockey who used to gallop for Casse and has even played a role with Got Stormy by breezing her a few times, including her final breeze in preparation for Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Mile. “It’s nice to watch him ride the good horses, and we’re proud of him,” Kim said of her son breezing the superstar of the barn. “I can be taken off for him.”

In a recent interview after Got Stormy’s last breeze, Declan referred to the outstanding racehorse as “my mom’s horse.” Kim is an exercise rider for Mark and has been an important part of Got Stormy’s career, being the mare’s regular rider at Churchill Downs and Keeneland, and at the past two Breeders’ Cups. Over the last few years, Kim has developed a strong rapport with her favorite chestnut mare. “I think we’re pretty good friends,” Kim said. “I try to understand her and understand her moods, so that I can do for her what she needs.”

On a typical morning, it’s pretty routine that Got Stormy will take her sweet time going to the racetrack. “I get on her and it takes about twenty minutes to get to the track because she wants to stand, she wants to look, she checks every direction, checks what everyone is doing, then she’s ready to go,” Kim said. “But, when she gets on the track, she’ll jog off in a nice way for me. She’s all business. She loves to train.”

Reflecting on when Got Stormy first became a part of Team Casse, Kim remembers that the multiple Grade 1 winner was not always as quiet as she is today. “She used to be a bit more racey to be around in the barn. Even to hand walk her in the barn, she was tough. And when you were on her, she was always full of herself. Sometimes you’d wish she’d just take a nice deep breath and settle a little bit. As she’s gotten older, she has done that,” Kim said. “She’s quieter, she’s more confident in herself. She walks around like she might have a little tiara on her head, but in a good way, kind of like, ‘I got this. Everybody settle down, I got this.'”

David says that she has always been a standout, even when she first came into the barn as a 3-year-old. Got Stormy had run twice with different connections before her previous owner, Gary Barber, bought her privately. “She was bought privately, based on her [speed figures], by Mr. Barber and Mark, so they saw something in her from the get-go,” David said.

Kim says she has always thought Got Stormy was special, and thinks the rest of the team thought highly of her as well. “I think they have always had a lot of faith in her.”

At 6 years old, Got Stormy is still competing successfully at the highest levels of racing and will be attending the Breeders’ Cup for the third time Saturday. Both Kim and David have been around several champions over the years, yet Got Stormy still remains a special horse on their list. “When you’re around horses at this level, it’s a privilege,” David said.

“She’s good at what she does and she loves what she does. She’s so talented, but she’s not snooty about it,” Kim joked. “Mark is wonderful enough to allow us to have Stormy in the barn so much and trust us with her, it’s almost like you can’t even believe she’s that good and that you can have a little part of it. I appreciate her, her kindness, her abilities and just to be here with her. It helps you remember why you’re here and why you’re doing this. It gets you up in the morning.”

What is amazing about Got Stormy’s illustrious career is that she has traveled all over the United States and Canada and has been part of all of Casse’s divisions at one time or another, allowing everyone to get to know her sweet personality. “It feels like she’s just part of the family because you’ve been with her so much,” Kim said. “Everybody, in every string wherever she’s been, everybody loves her. We’re all happy to have some time with her. She knows we think she’s special. Everybody in Casse Racing thinks she’s special.”

Please enjoy these photos of Got Stormy and the Carroll’s. Photo credits in order: MyRacehorse, Anne M. Eberhardt and Amanda Lee.