ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer David Donk and Sean Carney’s Water’s Edge, winner of the $100,000 Haynesfield on March 20 at Aqueduct Racetrack, is still on course for a start in the $200,000 Commentator Handicap on May 30 at Belmont Park despite missing an anticipated start in allowance company Donk had planned for this weekend.
“It was a really good effort in the stakes, but he spiked a fever a week ago. It’s knocked us off course a bit,” said Donk. “I would have probably ran him back in an allowance race this weekend. Those plans are canceled. The next objective is the Commentator if he doesn’t lose much time.”
Water’s Edge has never finished worse than second in eight lifetime starts and has won four races for Donk and Carney. His Haynesfield victory came in his stakes debut, setting the pace for the one-turn mile and drawing away at the eighth pole under Jorge Vargas, Jr. to win by 4 1/4 lengths. The field he defeated included four stakes winners in Chestertown, Our Last Buck, My Boy Tate and Lobsta.
Donk capped off the spring meet at the Big A on a high note, going 2-for-2 on Closing Day with two New York-bred sophomore maiden winners. One Track Mine, a daughter of Mineshaft, took a maiden claimer in Race 5 while Barrel of Quests, a son of Mission Impazible, won a maiden special weight in Race 9. Both horses were piloted by Luis Cardenas.
“He’s had a pretty steady campaign, so a little break maybe is a bit of a blessing,” Donk said. “We’ll see. If he’s not quite ready, then we’ll get him ready for the next one.”
Owned by Funky Munky Stable, One Track Mine finished second on debut at Belmont Park in July but was unplaced in two more starts over dirt before making a successful turf debut.
“The filly is useful,” Donk said of One Track Mine. “First time on the grass, I wasn’t sure how well she’d take to it, but she did and she appreciated it.”
Tri County Stables’ homebred Barrel of Quests also made the switch to turf and improved off a runner-up effort over the dirt in his last start to break his maiden at fifth asking.
“He only had one start on turf last year and he was really green in that effort. We bided our time this winter and experimented a little bit on the dirt,” Donk said. “We were looking forward to getting him back to the grass.”
Aqueduct Press Release
Photo: Chelsea Durand
