Also - with a single NPC training everything...that list of schems would be huge and pretty tedious to dig through. I guess it could automatically limit the list to whatever the character is training, but I think that would require additional work/programming.
Actually, I think that's an even better idea. Crew skill mats vendor in my stronghold would be fantastic. Those I don't HAVE to be on fleet to purchase, since somebody's usually selling some on the GTN, but at inflated prices. Having the mats readily available in my stronghold would make crafting more efficient.
So after taking over the barn of late trainer and mentor Mike Mitchell in 2014, the man who stepped away from the courtroom to live among the backstretch dirt has landed his first Derby shot with a bay colt named Stronghold.
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Phil D'Amato has won multiple training titles at Santa Anita and Del Mar. He's had 32 starts in the Breeders' Cup. He's missing only one thing from his rather impressive resume and that box will be checked Saturday when the gates open in the 12th race at Churchill Downs.
"This is pretty much what I've worked my whole career to get to this point," D'Amato said. "It's been my dream to have a horse in the Kentucky Derby. And to finally achieve that, I'm still taking it one day at a time. I can't really put it into feelings. And to be able to share it with my friends, family and owners, it's just a good feeling."
When he talks about his "whole career" you are talking years, not decades. The 48-year-old Los Angeles native has only been a head trainer since 2014 when he took over the barn of the late Mike Mitchell. That's not that long of a wait, unless, of course, you are the one waiting.
The horse that made the Derby dream possible is Stronghold, who won the Sunland Derby and Santa Anita Derby. With trainer Bob Baffert still ineligible to race at Churchill Downs, the weight of California racing was on D'Amato's shoulders before the Santa Anita Derby. He needed to finish at least third or the state might be without a Kentucky Derby starter for the first time in at least 70 years. (It's probably longer but records are difficult to verify.)
Obviously, Stronghold did better than third, running down Imagination in the stretch to win by a neck. The colt isn't getting the respect the Santa Anita Derby winner normally gets and is listed at 20-1 on the morning line. Early betting shows him going off at twice that price.
D'Amato is no stranger to Churchill Downs having run a string of horses there and he's also had horses on the Derby Day undercard on multiple occasions. But his history with the track goes back even farther.
D'Amato was a political science major at USC and then went to Arizona's renowned Race Track Industry Program. He took all that education and, well, got the same job as if he didn't have a couple degrees.
"I started from the bottom, working as a hot walker," D'Amato said. "Hot walker to groom, groom to foreman, foreman to assistant and so forth. I didn't get to jump through any special circumstances. I worked my way to where I am."
Those who follow Southern California racing might be surprised to learn that D'Amato has a horse in the Kentucky Derby because he is known as a turf trainer. Chad Brown, also known as a turf trainer, has two horses in the Derby including second-favorite Sierra Leone at 3-1.
"The [turf] stigma is really only there just by dollars and cents," D'Amato said. "The economics of the game in California just make it a lot easier for owners to own really good quality turf horses than they do dirt horses. Good pedigree dirt horses go for a lot more money.
"So just by the economics of the game, I've kind of fallen into that turf trainer stigma. But I've won many Grade 1s on the dirt. My first Grade 1 was on the dirt. So, [being here] is validation and hopefully people see I can train a nice quality dirt horse just as well as a turf horse and get more dirt horses."
Stronghold will be wearing the No. 18 on his saddlecloth, but because of the scratch of Encino, he will move up to gate 17, which is the only gate that has not had a winner, going 0 for 44. It hasn't had a horse hit the board since 1988 when Forty Niner finished second and hasn't had a top-five finisher since Don't Get Mad in 2005.
"I'd rather be on the outside than the inside," he said. "We don't need to be stuck [on the inside], getting jostled around. [From the outside we can] get nice and clear and maybe follow Fierceness into a good spot going into the first turn."
If there is reason for optimism about Stronghold's chances, consider that the colt has already won over the Churchill surface. He broke his maiden in Louisville beating two other Derby starters in the race, Resilience and Track Phantom. And Fierceness has only run well every other race and the Derby is in the "other" slot.
The Ghostzapper colt is in ninth place on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard after also picking up points with a runner-up effort in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2). He has finished first or second in each of his five career starts.
Gold Phoenix (Belardo), a Grade 1 winner (2023 Frank E. Kilroe Mile), worked five furlongs in 1:00.6 at Santa Anita on Tuesday morning. It was the eighth fastest of 50 works at the distance. His previous work was eight days ago going four furlongs at Santa Anita. In his last start he placed fourth in the Breeders' Cup Turf going 1 1/2 miles on the turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 4 for trainer Phil D'Amato.
Storm the Court (Court Vision), a Grade 1 winner (2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile), worked three furlongs in 37.2 seconds at Tampa Bay Downs on Tuesday morning. It was the second fastest of 15 works at the distance. His previous work was nine days ago going four furlongs at Tampa Bay Downs. In his last start he placed second in an allowance race going five furlongs on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs on Jan. 31 for trainer Billy Morey.
Elm Drive (Mohaymen), a Grade 2 winner (2021 Sorrento), worked four furlongs in 48.2 seconds at Santa Anita on Tuesday morning. It was the 10th fastest of 66 works at the distance. Her previous work was eight days ago going four furlongs at Santa Anita. In her last start she placed second in the Las Cienegas (G3) going 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf at Santa Anita on Jan. 14 for trainer Phil D'Amato.
Maryquitecontrary (First Dude), a Grade 2 winner (2023 Inside Information), worked four furlongs in 49.1 seconds at Gulfstream Park on Tuesday morning. It was the fastest of six works at the distance. This was her first work since her last race. In her last start she placed third in the Royal Delta (G3) going 1 1/16 miles on the main track at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 17 for trainer Eddie Plesa.
Kirstenbosch (Midnight Lute), a two-time Grade 3 winner (2023 Chillingworth, 2023 La Caada), worked four furlongs in 48.4 seconds at Santa Anita on Tuesday morning. It was the 15th fastest of 66 works at the distance. Her previous work was nine days ago going five furlongs at Santa Anita. In her last start she placed third in the Santa Monica (G2) going seven furlongs on the main track at Santa Anita on Feb. 3 for trainer John Sadler.
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