HELLO will, on Saturday, attempt to become the first Irish bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. The diminutive bay son of Lycius out of the Sadler's Wells mare Itqan weighs in at an estimated 15.3 hands and 850lb, making him the smallest horse in the field.

But Hello has made giant strides since arriving in the US and his two wins from four outings have seen him stake his claim as a legitimate contender at Churchill Downs.

Not that Hello was any slouch in his youth when trained at Arundel by John Dunlop. On his last start for Dunlop Hello landed the Gran Criterium in Milan, making him one of only three Grade Group One winners in the field along with the Florida Derby hero Captain Bodgit and Freehouse, who had Hello a head and a nose behind him in third in last month's Santa Anita Derby.

Hello is now handled by Ron McAnally, a native Kentuckian descended from Irish stock and seeking to improve his Derby record with the horse bred at Coolmore.

But underlining what a task Hello faces is the telling statistic that only four horses bred outside the US have won the Kentucky Derby in the previous 122 runnings and one of them was the mighty Canadian Northern Dancer.

McAnally, who trained the top class John Henry, had charge of the last Irish bred horse to attempt the Kentucky Derby. But Dr Devious's bid in 1992 ended in frustration with the colt finishing seventh after failing to adapt to the surface.