Donk sees luck change with the scenery

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer David Donk had a bad feeling about the Belmont Park fall meet early on.

“My first six starters at Belmont, I had four seconds and a third, and when one of them didn’t win I said, ‘This could be a problem,’ ” Donk said. “And sure enough.”

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Donk went winless with 64 starters at Belmont, though he had nine second-place finishes and 10 thirds and his purse earnings were $210,626, good enough to finish 23rd among all trainers in that department.

My how things have changed. Donk won with his first two starters at the Aqueduct meet and finished the first three days of the season with four wins from 15 starters. Only Todd Pletcher, with five wins, had a better opening week.

“It’s a game of cycles,” said Donk, who had a good Saratoga meet with eight winners. “I’ve been doing this long enough, whether you’re a trainer, rider, or owner sometimes you go through it. I’d like to say it didn’t bother me, but I probably drove [wife] Fay and [daughter] Holly nuts more than anybody.”

Donk is a racing secretary’s dream in that he likes to run his horses. He started 15 horses over the first three days of the Aqueduct meet and has four entered on Thursday’s card, though Double Shot, entered in the fourth, will scratch to run Friday in a similar spot going a mile.

In Thursday’s opener, a maiden race for New York-bred 2-year-olds, Donk runs the first-time starter Hangout against just five rivals.

“He’s done okay,” Donk said. “My concern is maybe he’s not as focused, but he is by Upstart and he’s gotten better every time. He probably needs to be a gelding and could be after this race. But saying that, it came up a short field. It depends how everybody likes theirs.”

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In race 2, Donk has Black Irish entered to run only if the scheduled turf race is transferred to the dirt. There was rain in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, so there is a chance he could run. He would be facing special weight company after running third and then second in the maiden-claiming ranks.

“It would be a good test for him because it’s maiden special weight,” Donk said.

In race 3, Donk drops the 3-year-old filly Sky Kitten into a $14,000 claimer on the dirt. Sky Kitten, by Sky Mesa, has made 9 of her 11 starts on turf.

“I’m just trying to see will she do here for the winter,” Donk said. “She should run well.”

Donk plans to be active throughout the fall with the expectations of plenty of turf racing, and perhaps the winter if he has enough dirt horses.

“I got a lot of them that are useful,” Donk said. “If they’re useful, we can make money.”