No immediate plans for Fingal's Cave after Bay Ridge win

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – With his focus being on races from April to November, trainer David Donk is somewhat in limbo with his filly Fingal’s Cave, who came off a 14-month layoff to win Thursday’s $100,000 Bay Ridge Stakes for New York-bred females at Aqueduct.

Donk said he will point Fingal’s Cave to open-company stakes. Races such as the Grade 1, $600,000 Madison on April 6 at Keeneland or the Ruffian, a one-mile stakes likely to be run in early or mid-May at Aqueduct, are somewhat intriguing to him.

Where and when Fingal’s Cave might run before then is still unsettled.

“I don’t know how aggressive we want to get early but saying that we haven’t seen all the schedules yet,” Donk said Friday morning.

Fingal’s Cave, who ran second in the Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland in October 2022, was away from the races since then due first to bone remodeling and then to a foot issue. After spending a lot of time at WinStar Farm, Fingal’s Cave came to Donk in mid-November and he got five workouts into her before the Bay Ridge.

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In the Bay Ridge, she led pretty much from start to finish under Jose Lezcano, fending off some early pressure from Venti Valentine, who ultimately finished second.

“It was the goal to get to a race, we targeted this race a couple of months ago even though it was for New York-breds, but it was a mile,” Donk said. “Fortunately, we were able to do it and she came through with flying colors.”

Fingal’s Cave ran a mile in 1:37.45 and earned a modest 79 Beyer Speed Figure. She now has five wins and a second from six starts.

“I was pleased with it all. It wasn’t a hard race on her, but she was certainly fit enough to handle it, which was the main thing,” said Donk, who trains Fingal’s Cave for Alistair Fyfe.

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