D'Amato to have small string in Kentucky

ARCADIA, Calif. – Phil D’Amato, the leading trainer at the current Santa Anita winter-spring meeting, plans to have a small stable of runners in Kentucky this spring.

D’Amato said on Friday he will focus on the Keeneland spring meeting from April 8-29 and the first weeks of the Churchill Downs spring meeting from April 30 to July 2. D’Amato, 39, said he plans to have “10 to 12” runners in Kentucky and will finalize the roster after Keeneland publishes its condition book in the coming weeks.

Through Friday, D’Amato had 18 wins at the winter-spring meeting, including five stakes wins. A former assistant to the late Mike Mitchell, D’Amato began training on his own in April 2014.

In recent months, D’Amato has won such races as the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap with Midnight Storm at Del Mar in November, the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes with Street Fancy at Los Alamitos in December, and the California Cup Sprint with Sunday Rules at Santa Anita last month.