Familiar foes clash in first turf race

FORT ERIE, Ontario - The season's first turf race, an open allowance at about seven furlongs, is the feature on the first Sunday card of Fort Erie's meet.

Get Down Wolfie and Pleasant Hall, two locally based runners who did most of their running at Woodbine last year, head a field of 10. Both are making their 2007 debut.

Owned and trained by Dick Jukosky, Get Down Wolfie is seeking his first score since August 2004. The 9-year-old Get Down Wolfie was sidelined for all of 2005. On his return last year, Get Down Wolfie recorded 4 seconds and 1 third from 8 starts.

Get Down Wolfie's last start was a third-place finish on Oct. 28 in the 1o1/4-mile Chief Bearhart Stakes at Woodbine. Pleasant Hall finished sixth.

Four weeks earlier, Pleasant Hall had defeated Get Down Wolfie in an optional claimer at 1 1/8 miles.

Jukosky is looking for his second win of the year. He won with Coleraine, his first starter of the meet, last week.

Coleraine, 4, was making her first start for her new owner. She was bought privately at the end of last year's meet and was still a maiden after nine starts.

"I was amazed how she won," said Jukosky, of the 2 1/4-length tally at five furlongs. "She was stuck behind a wall of horses. And when there was an opening she went flying through. We thought she was a

[distance horse]."

Jukosky has one other runner, Tuftsville, who lost his first start of the year at Woodbine.

King resumes riding

Rob King Jr. will be back in the saddle again Sunday.

On medical advice, King sat out both racing cards here last week. He had an eye laceration sustained while racing on Woodbine's Polytrack.

King has five mounts Sunday. including Get Down Wolfie. In spite of the lost days, King is still atop of the rider standings with 10 wins, one ahead of Kris Robinson.

MacRae off to good start

Don MacRae saddled a winner here on Monday and another Tuesday. The two wins puts him in a tie for second with Mike Newell and Ralph Quaranta in the trainer standings. They are one behind Mark Fournier, who has five winners.

MacRae had 25 horses in training at Mountaineer Race Track, his off-season base.

"I don't think we Canadians can sit idle during the winter," said MacRae. "I think we need to race so we don't go broke. We won 22 races."

MacRae's operation here is split between the racetrack and his nearby 15-acre farm, which contains a pool and a track.

MacRae's fiancee, exercise rider Tracy Hnatko, runs the farm and works with the older horses.

"Things are smooth now," said MacRae, who had 19 wins here last year. "I've had 2 wins and 2 seconds at Woodbine."