Just got back from the track-- what a great experience. Not much of a race, of course, but the place was PACKED and the love affair between the Bay Area and this horse was very much in evidence. Normally, the race fans I see out here look pretty, um. . . hard boiled. But there were hordes of the uninitiated who had made their first trip to BM to see this horse. Don’t know that I have anything you haven’t seen before, but anyone who wants to see what The Great One looked like today can e-mail me at dgilmanr@comcast.net. A couple of the pix came out pretty well. Let the countdown to Belmont begin. . . .
Hmmmm … maybe Harry & Greg aren’t on the same page or maybe the media is just getting fed some good copy to print:
The Blood-Horse 3/3/05 “Swale Win Could Send Lost in the Fog Down Triple Crown Trail”
excerpt:
[B]Trainer Greg Gilchrist said a good race in the Swale would lead Aleo to pay the $6,000 supplementary fee.
“We’ll definitely put up the money, and we’ll definitely look for a two-turn race,” said Gilchrist. <span class=“ev_code_RED”>“If he runs here and runs well, the Derby will definitely become our goal.”</span>[/B]
The field for the March 5 $150,000 Swale Stakes (gr. II) includes:
PP Horse (Jock, weight)
1 What’s Up Dude (Jose A. Santos, 120)
2 Santana Strings (John R. Velazquez, 122)
3 Around the Cape (Eibar Coa, 116)
4 B Trick (Gerry Bacchas, 116)
5 Port Town (Cornelio H. Velasquez, 116)
6 Straight Line (Brice Blanc, 118)
7 Up Like Thunder (Joe Bravo, 116)
8 Evil Minister (Jerry D. Bailey, 116)
9 More Smoke (Clinton L. Potts, 118)
10 United (Ramon A. Dominguez, 116)
11 Lost in the Fog (Russell A. Baze, 120)
Have you folks looked at his pedigree?
Fast as he is, there is NO Mr. Prospector. That can’t help but benefit the breed when he goes to stud.
Let us hope he is successful with his progeny.
I’m not sure who his exercise riders is as she isn’t credited in the caption and I haven’t seen it in the assorted articles.
AP Photo: Lost In the Fog, worked out @ Belmont Park Monday 10-24-05
Side remarks about LITF’s arrival:
[I]Lost in the Fog arrived at Belmont Park on Saturday night after his seventh cross-country trip of the year from Gilchrist’s base at Golden Gate Fields.
“He got off the van and was ready to go and I walked him for 45 minutes in the shedrow this morning and he was putting my arm to sleep he was pulling on me so hard,” Gilchrist said. “I took him outside just to jog him up and down the road a little bit and I had to bring him back in he was bucking and playing so much. So I think he’s ready.”[/I]
[snip]
[I]Gilchrist said owner Harry Aleo plans to race Lost in the Fog through his <span class=“ev_code_RED”>five-year-old season</span>.
“That’s contingent on the well-being of the horse,” Gilchrist said. “I think he likes to have people admire the horse. And who wouldn’t?”[/I]
I agree with you FLAbreds, Mr. Aleo seems very concerned for the welfare of the horse. He’s not letting the idea of more money get in the way!
Egads!
Only two other horses willing to take on Lost In The Fog Saturday (5/14) in the $150,000 Golden Bear Breeders’ Cup Stakes on Saturday… sounds like days gone by with Spectacular Bid as a 4-yr old 
DRF 5/12/05 “Lost In The Fog attracts lights, camera, action”
excerpt:
Lost in the Fog’s owner, Harry Aleo, likely would have run in the race no matter the purse.
“I was born here. I live here. I’ve always wanted to run here,” he said. “I hate to go out of town. Everywhere you go, you hear Golden Gate is a second-tier track.”
The impact Lost in the Fog has had on local racing is reflected in the fact that the track actually held a news conference about the race and that, in addition to the television stations, the Bay Area’s four major newspapers were represented there by writers and columnists.
Lost in the Fog may have only two challengers in Saturday’s six-furlong sprint, but Golden Gate Fields is generating publicity that racing seldom gets in the mainstream media. Sean Greely, the track’s racing secretary, said he hopes the race sends a message to owners and trainers.
“We want people to see if you have a quality horse, you can send it to northern California,” Greely said. “This is a stepping-stone in that process.”
Well, my pictures didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped, either. It was fun hearing from some of you, though, and recounting the race. Liza’s mention of the newbies at the ticket window cracked me up, and they did provide some of the best entertainment of the day. In the saddling area LITF was surrounded by eight or nine photographers as the other horses ambled about unmolested. A woman standing to my right was openly weeping; I smiled sympathetically, thinking she was caught up in the moment. But she explained, “I just feel so sorry for the other horses,” and broke free of the crowd to take pictures of a confused looking Jeffries Bay. After the race, a woman ten feet behind me began screaming hysterically when she realized she’d nabbed the trifecta (I’m assuming this wasn’t you, Kinsa!). When her husband realized she’d won $1.30, he doubled over laughing as she stared at the tote board. I felt so sorry for her… until she let out another shriek, pumped her fists in the air and yelled, “I won $1.30!” Finally, in the winner’s circle, as Harry Aleo waved to his admirers, a man who appeared to be only about ten years less grizzled than Harry himself stopped applauding long enough to confide, “First time in my life I’ve clapped for a goddam Republican.” If you’re familiar with the political climate in the Bay Area, you’ll understand that Lost in the Fog really did work magic that day.
Oh Drumbiggle - you beat me to the punch!! Absolutely the funniest comeback to the stupidest question EVER!! I spit out a mouthful of beer whilst laughing hysterically and falling off my chair!
And the commentator said, “Oh, I guess that wasn’t a very good question…” Ya think???
just made my reservation for a table at the turf club. they are very busy.
For those folks who have been hounding Harry & Co. to sell Lost In The Fog, they are partially in luck - his dam will be auctioned off:
DRF 10/4/05 - “Lost in the Fog’s dam for sale”
Fasig-Tipton Kentucky will begin Kentucky’s breeding stock auction season on Nov. 6 with 189 horses in its catalog, including the dam of undefeated Grade 1 winner Lost in the Fog, Cloud Break, and the Grade 1-winning mare Riskaverse.
OK you racers…I have been keeping up on this thread even though I know nothing about racing but the commentary on LITF is so interesting. So today I dropped everything and watched him go. Let me just say that Disney couldn’t have picked better characters. The beautiful horse. The washed up trainer who comes back to win big. The crotchety old guy that smacks down stupid young reporters. If there was an orphan in there somewhere the story would be complete!
You can see replays of Foggy’s races on http://www.calracing.com/ - you just have to join, same as a message board then click on ‘racereplays’ and then click on ‘Horse’ - put in his name and see most of his races.
And here’s a video of him earlier this week:
http://www.newsday.com/sports/horseracing/ny-spbreed274…=ny-sports-headlines
What an awesome fella !!!
Inside Bay Area 2/7/06 - “Rested Lost In The Fog gets fresh start”
“I don’t blame it on anybody or anything,” Gilchrist said. “I just think it had been a long year, and the stress of it all came together on that day. We probably squeezed the lemon a little too far. There wasn’t anything about that race that wasn’t out of his realm. But I’m not big on excuses. We got outrun, and we move on.”
Gilchrist admitted that well before the race, he spotted a number of adverse signs about his usually even-tempered colt. He was cranky. He had to spend nearly 7 hours in a holding barn before the race. He required a shoe change. When the trainer went to put the saddle on him, he reared up, and when jockey Russell Baze put him through his paces in the post parade, he just didn’t seem to have the same verve.
“I’ve been around long enough that when I see certain signs, I can say, ‘Today ain’t the day,’” Gilchrist said. “These are very intelligent animals, and they know there are certain things you do on race day. He never gave me any indication until that morning that he wasn’t ready to run. But then he started acting kind of irritable, sort of like, ‘I know what’s going on.’ He knew he was going to have to run, and he wasn’t really happy about it.”
we have a table in the terrace.
Not an excuse, but an elaboration of what was already semi reported of LITF’s condition (pre-race) right after the loss …
Lost in the Fog rattled in barn, Gilchrist says
By MIKE WELSCH - Daily Racing Form Nov 1, 2005
ELMONT, N.Y. - At 8 a.m. Saturday morning, 45 minutes before Lost in the Fog would walk over to the Belmont Park security barn and almost seven hours before post time for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, trainer Greg Gilchrist said: “I think the holding barn will be an advantage for us, because we’ve been through it before. I guarantee at least a half-dozen horses in today’s Breeders’ Cup will not run their races because of their experience in the holding barn.”
Little did Gilchrist realize that one of those horses might have been his.
Gilchrist first showed signs of concern at about 9:15 a.m., a half-hour after Lost in the Fog arrived at the security area or “Stalag 17,” as Gilchrist laughingly referred to it earlier that morning. Usually calm, Lost in the Fog was “pretty riled up,” Gilchrist said.
“I’ve never seen him act like this before,” Gilchrist said.
Six hours later, on the walkover to the paddock less than 30 minutes before perhaps the most important race of his career, Gilchrist again appeared quietly anxious when he was asked how Lost in the Fog had handled the remainder of his security barn experience.
“He got to fretting a bit,” Gilchrist said on the way to the paddock.
“I’ve never seen him get excited like this before,” he said, adding later that he had to use a lip chain on Lost in the Fog to put his bandages on.
Gilchrist seemed uncomfortable talking about the unsettled state of Lost in the Fog.
As the television cameras zoomed in on Lost in the Fog and a huge throng of well wishers gathered to welcome their hero into the paddock, there was little doubt from Gilchrist’s tone and the look on his face that the subject was weighing heavily on his mind.
When the gate opened, Lost in the Fog broke a step slowly and was hung four wide disputing what for him was a relatively moderate pace. He gained a short lead into the stretch but had little left in the tank at the eighth pole, finishing seventh as the 3-5 favorite in the Sprint.
“When he came past the quarter pole, I thought everything was all right, then a couple horses came back by him,” Gilchrist said. “He basically only ran a half-mile. He didn’t come back exhausted. He just came up empty the final three-sixteenths. He just didn’t go out and give his performance.”
Gilchrist was understandably disappointed, but he handled the defeat as well as he has handled Lost in the Fog’s entire 3-year-old campaign when he was mobbed by reporters immediately after the race. He talked about how the fractions - 22.01, 44.56 - were certainly not anything Lost in the Fog hadn’t dealt with before. He said Lost in the Fog had been hung wide but “not too wide” during the early stages of the race, and how he actually liked the fact Lost in the Fog was third turning for home. And then, almost as an afterthought, he mentioned the security barn experience.
“He was very nervous in the holding barn,” said Gilchrist. “He acted like a worried horse. He wasn’t comfortable with the whole situation. But I’m not blaming the holding barn or using it as an excuse. Excuses are for losers, and I don’t want to be taking anything away from the winner. He just didn’t have it in him today. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Gilchrist said he scoped Lost on the Fog after the race and determined he hadn’t bled.
Lost in the Fog will spend the rest of the year at the Southern Chase Farm in Ocala, Fla., owned by Karen and Greg Dodd, who actually sold Lost in the Fog to Harry Aleo for $140,000. Gilchrist said he’ll wait before mapping out any plans for Lost in the Fog’s 4-year-old campaign, but confirmed that he hopes to stretch Lost in the Fog out around two turns.
“He’ll certainly get November and December and quite possibly January,” Gilchrist said. “I don’t think he’ll need any more than that.”
Despite suffering the first loss of his career in the Sprint, Lost in the Fog accomplished enough during the year to still be considered a favorite to win the Eclipse Award in the sprint division. But on Saturday, for whatever reason, he didn’t have his “A” game.
This horse deserves to be horse of the year. There were lots of folks at the track for the first time (having fun) just to see him. THe saddling area was packed with kids being held up on their parents shoulders to see THE HORSE!! I have seen a few wonderful horses in my life but never have seen a reception like this.
I was sad they scratched Denny Crane’s horse. oh well.
All those first time bettors gave me fits at the window.
But I did hit my first trifecta thank to LITF. It paid 2.60. oh well.
turns out Oct 1 is Lost in the Fog t-shirt day.
hope they don’t run out before I get there.
I still have my Holy Bull t-shirt somewhere.
LITF t-shirt
Well all good things must come to an end 
Alas I still think LITF is a terrific horse despite the shocking 7th place finish in the TVG Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Do I think the horses he lost to are thus much better? Yesterday they were however as most articles suggest, something wasn’t right with him just before the race.
Now he is going on a much deserved vacation. Enjoy it Foggy!
Blood-Horse 10-30-05 “Lost in the Fog Going On Vacation”
[I]Lost in the Fog, who suffered his first defeat Saturday when he ran a disappointing seventh in the TVG Breeders’ Cup Sprint (gr. I) at Belmont Park, will now get a vacation.
“He’s fine,” reported trainer Greg Gilchrist Sunday. “He’s going to Southern Chase Farm in Ocala, Florida. He’ll certainly get November and December (off) and quite possibly January.”
The break in training will be the first for Lost in the Fog since he began his career last November with a maiden victory at Golden Gate Fields. That win was followed by nine straight stakes victories, and several trips across the country.
Lost in the Fog appeared to be heading to win No. 11 in the Breeders’ Cup when he surged to the lead approaching the stretch. The 3-year-old colt faltered in the final furlong, however, and faded to seventh.
“We probably pushed the button one too many times,” said Gilchrist. “I think all the traveling finally got to him a little bit.”
Lost in the Fog had trained very well for the Breeders’ Cup and Gilchrist was confident going into the race, as were the fans that made him a 3-to-5 favorite. Gilchrist, however, became concerned about his horse’s chances a few hours before the race when Lost in the Fog began to act up.
“Saturday he certainly wasn’t himself,” said Gilchrist. "He was nervous before the race and I’d never seen him nervous before. He was acting up. He acted like a horse that was upset about something. When you see that, it gives you a bad feeling. They just use up energy.
“When a horse acts like that, you usually don’t get a very good performance,” continued Gilchrist. “He basically only ran a half mile. He ust didn’t really put out Saturday.”
Lost in the Fog heads to the sidelines after an outstanding 2005 campaign in which he won eight stakes in nine starts and earned $844,500. Overall, Lost in the Fog is 10-for-11 with $889,075 in earnings.[/I]
Oh, me too! When he ran the Carry Back I ended up subscribing to some online betting webpage just so I could get the streaming simulcast of the race! I’m so glad the KB is going to be on ESPN!
Lost In The Fog is the early favorite at 1-5 (as usual) 
.
Santana Strings follows at 8-1.
Social Probation has 12-1.
Fusaichi Rock Star and Storm Surge at 15-1.
The Daddy and Better Than Bonds at 20-1.
Originally posted by In the Air:
I admit, I don’t follow racing, so I will ask a dumb question, when is the Breeders Cup? I want to watch this race…
Not a dumb question. This will be the last year that the BC is aired on NBC Sports - next year it goes to ESPN. And it looks to be one of the largest and strongest cards in years.
The official site: breederscup.com Also worth looking at is The Blood-Horse magazine’s on-line BC section
It is Saturday October 29th at Belmont Park (Elmont, NY) at 1 pm eastern.
The TVG Breeders’ Cup Sprint is the tentatively the 6th race on the card
Sadly the on line race videos of past performances feature NONE with Lost In The Fog.
As for LITF’s safe passage to NY tomorrow I’m sure FedEx will take extra care of their multi-million dollar equine package
