Fall Highweight kicks off HolidayFest at Aqueduct

THUNDER TOUCH (Gulch) will defend his title in Thursday's $100,000 Fall

Highweight H. The six-furlong event, which lost its Grade 3 status this year, is

the traditional Thanksgiving Day feature at Aqueduct. The Fall Highweight was

first run in 1914 and had been graded since 1973. It originally had a

mandatory top weight of 140 pounds.

Thunder Touch has been assigned top weight of 127 pounds, one more than he

carried to a 1 1/4-length victory in last year's Fall Highweight. The Kiaran

McLaughlin-trained four-year-old began the season with a third-place finish in

the Bold Ruler H. (G3) at Belmont Park and comes off a victory via

disqualification in the

Vincent A. Moscarelli Memorial H. at Delaware Park. Jose Santos will ride.

ATTILA'S STORM (Forest Wildcat), who set the early pace before finishing a

close fourth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) last out, will carry 126 pounds.

The Richard Schosberg-trained three-year-old breaks from the rail and could

prove hard to catch under jockey Ramon Dominguez.

The field, in post position order, with jockeys and weights, consists of

Attila's Storm; ALL HAIL STORMY (Stormy Atlantic), Cornelio Velasquez, 124;

Thunder Touch; SUPER FUSE (Lite The Fuse), Norberto Arroyo Jr., 124; SIR GREELEY

(Mr. Greeley), Michael Luzzi, 123; MR. WHITESTONE (Dance Brightly), Charles Lopez, 124; BYANOSEJOE (Cherokee Run), Alan Garcia, 123; VOODOO (Petionville), Javier

Castellano, 125; INTROSPECT (In Case), Pablo Fragoso, 124; REDSKIN WARRIOR

(Indian Charlie), Channing Hill, 124; and YANKEE MON (Maria's Mon), Edgar Prado, 125.

First race post time for the nine-race Thanksgiving Day card is 11:25 a.m.

(EST).

Aqueduct's HolidayFest will feature five graded stakes races over the

Thanksgiving Weekend, culminating with the $350,000 Cigar Mile H. (G1) on Saturday.

The Cigar Mile is New York's final Grade 1 event of 2005.