Lost in the Fog

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Lost in the Fog

The Fog in the paddock prior to the Breeders' Cup Sprint on October 29, 2005
Sire: Lost Soldier
Dam: Cloud Break
Damsire: Dr. Carter
Sex: Stallion
Foaled: 2002
Country: United States (Florida)
Colour: Dark Brown
Breeder: Susan Seper
Owner: Harry Aleo
Trainer: Greg Gilchrist
Record: 14:11-1-0
Earnings: $978,099
Major Racing Wins & Honours & Awards
Major Racing Wins
Arizona Juvenile Stakes (2004)
King's Bishop Stakes (2005)
Carry Back Stakes (2005)
Swale Stakes (2005)
Riva Ridge Breeders' Cup Stakes (2005)
Bay Shore Stakes (2005)
Ocala Stud Dash (2005)
Golden Gate Breeders' Cup Stakes (2005)
Bay Meadows Speed Handicap (2005)
Aristides Breeders' Cup Handicap (2006)
Racing Awards
U.S. Champion Sprint Horse (2005)

Infobox last updated on: September 22, 2006.

Lost in the Fog (February 4, 2002 - September 17, 2006) was an American thoroughbred race horse. Bred by Susan Seper and born in Florida, the Fog's sire was Lost Soldier (sire so far of 10 stakes winners), a son of Danzig (himself the son of Northern Dancer ranked at #43 by The Blood-Horse in their top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century). His dam was Cloud Break, a Dr. Carter mare.

(Unraced, Cloud Break is proving a successful broodmare having also produced the stakes-placed How About My Place by Out of Place. In foal to Speightstown, Cloud Break was acquired by WinStar Farm in 2005's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November mixed sale for $600,000. In 2006, she was sold to Charles Deter.)

"The Fog" was a $13,000 weanling and a $48,000 yearling. Not reaching his reserve in the 2004 two-year-old Ocala, Florida Breeders' Sale in March, he was sold privately for $140,000 to Harry Aleo, and throughout his short career was trained by Greg Gilchrist.

His Florida breeder, Susan Seper, says he was named the day she literally lost him in the fog.

In 2005, Lost in the Fog, competing solely in stakes company (with the exception of his maiden), won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Sprint Horse. He won 10 straight races by impressive margins, although his hopes of becoming the 2005 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year winner were dashed on October 29, 2005 when he finished seventh in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. Prior to that, as said, he was unbeaten...with a string of 10 strong sprint performances (short races; 6 or 7 furlongs) on the dirt). Because of his great success, he never went off at long odds.

After the Breeders' Cup, Fog took six months off.

Contents

[edit] Races

Finish Race Distance Track Jockey Post Odds Date
9th Smile Sprint Handicap Six Furlongs Calder Race Course Russell Baze 10 1.10 July 15, 2006
1st Aristides Breeders' Cup Handicap Six Furlongs Churchill Downs Baze 4 0.50 June 3, 2006
2nd Oakland Tribune Six Furlongs Golden Gate Fields Baze 2 0.40 April 22, 2006
7th Breeders' Cup Sprint Six Furlongs Belmont Park Baze 7 0.70 October 29, 2005
1st Bay Meadows Speed Handicap Six Furlongs Bay Meadows Baze 1 0.05 October 1, 2005
1st King's Bishop Stakes Seven Furlongs Saratoga Race Course Baze 3 0.30 August 27, 2005
1st Carry Back Stakes Six Furlongs Calder Race Course Baze 5 0.05 July 10, 2005
1st Riva Ridge Breeders' Cup Stakes Seven Furlongs Belmont Park Edgar Prado 2 0.40 June 11, 2005
1st Golden Bear Breeders' Cup Stakes Six Furlongs Golden Gate Fields Baze 3 0.05 May 14, 2005
1st Bay Shore Stakes Seven Furlongs Aqueduct Racetrack Baze 1 0.05 April 9, 2005
1st Swale Stakes Seven Furlongs Gulfstream Park Baze 10 0.50 March 5, 2005
1st Ocala Stud Dash Stakes* Six Furlongs Gulfstream Park Baze 4 0.70 January 25, 2005
1st Arizona Juvenile Stakes Six Furlongs Turf Paradise Baze 9 0.50 December 26, 2004
1st Maiden Special Weight Five Furlongs Golden Gate Fields Baze 5 1.20 November 14, 2004

Note: The Ocala Stud Dash Stakes is also known as the Sunshine Millions Dash as part of the Sunshine Millions series for Florida-bred and California-bred horses.

[edit] Lost in the Fog comes back

The colt lost his first 2006 start, finishing second behind Carthage in the April 22 Oakland Tribune Golden Gate Fields Sprint.

Enlarge

On June 3, 2006 Lost in the Fog returned to his winning ways, for the final time by taking a sharp victory in the 6 furlong Grade 3 Aristides Breeders' Cup Handicap at Churchill Downs (named for Aristides, the little horse that won the very first Kentucky Derby). Carrying a high weight of 124 pounds and ridden by Russell Baze, the Fog won $69,024 as the winner's share of the purse and set a new stakes record. The Aristides was his 10th stakes victory.

Lost in the Fog's final start was the Smile Sprint Handicap at Calder on July 15th, 2006. He finished 9th.

Lost in the Fog's home track was the San Francisco Bay Area's Golden Gate Fields where arguably the greatest closer of all time, Silky Sullivan, is buried in the infield. Lost in the Fog's career earnings were $978,099.

[edit] Complications

In August of 2006, believing the horse to be suffering from a mild bout of colic, Lost in the Fog's handlers took him to the California-Davis veterinary school. Performing a biopsy on the horse, the doctors discovered what they believed to be a cancerous mass on his spleen - a lymphoma "about the size of a cantalope." The doctors thought that surgery was likely, a rare operation but possibly one that could have given Lost in the Fog a full life.

Gilchrist, his trainer, had thought that his horse's recent poor performances—winning only one of three starts this year—might have been due to quarter cracks. "It turns out he's been running with this thing inside him this year," he said. "It shows you what kind of warrior this horse is." He also said that owner Harry Aleo was extremely concerned about his star. "We will do anything we can for the horse. It's almost a Barbaro-type situation."

[edit] Cancer diagnosis

On August 18, however, the situation went from bad to grave, to terminal. According to the report given by The Blood-Horse, "Two additional tumors were discovered. The first, the size of an egg, was located in the membrane that suspends the spleen. The second, (...) as large as the growth found originally on the spleen, is beneath (the horse's) spine along his back, very intimately against the body wall. It could not be removed surgically." (Source: The Blood-Horse)

Lost in the Fog was vanned back to his stall at Golden Gate Fields, where he was pampered for his remaining days.

"We'll keep him in the stall for a week or 10 days," the trainer said. "This would be the best thing to do, get him back with his groom. I just couldn't leave him up there (at Davis) to be euthanized and thrown in the bone yard."

Given the circumstances, Gilchrist said it would not be proper to extend Lost in the Fog's life beyond the horse's comfort level or subject him to chemotherapy or extensive surgery.

"We're fine with a week, 10 days, maybe two weeks," he said. "But you get beyond that, his quality of life wouldn't be good. This way we'll let the people who have always been around him take care of him. We'll bring him home and make him as happy as we can for awhile." (Source: The Blood-Horse)

[edit] Battle over

On September 17th, 2006, the Fog was quietly euthanized. He'd been grazing, as he'd done twice each day since the discovery of his cancer, when Gilcrist saw he was in obvious distress. True to his word, the trainer did not allow him to suffer. He said that Lost in the Fog was happy and peaceful until the end.

On September 30th, 2006, Golden Gate Fields held a celebration of his life.

Lost in the Fog's remains were cremated. They will be kept at Greg and Karen Dodd's Southern Chase Farm in Williston, Florida where he was raised.

[edit] References

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