Lost In The Fog: Feb 2002 - Sep 2006; godspeed to you!

[Glimmerglass]

Another general interest story on Harry, Gilchrist, and LITF: Palm Beach Post 7/8 “Owner not interested in offers for horse”

excerpt:

[I]Aleo paid $140,000 for Lost in the Fog.

Early this spring, he was offered $2 million, which Gilchrist dutifully advised him was very fair.

Aleo turned it down.

Now the offers are at $6 million and climbing.

Aleo isn’t even listening.

Don’t get Gilchrist wrong ”" he was very much expecting that reaction from Aleo, who owns a San Francisco real estate agency. But $2 million, $4 million, $6 million?

“Mr. Aleo’s 85 years old; he’s not worried about where he’s going to have dinner this evening, or for that matter what it’s going to cost him to have dinner,” Gilchrist says. “We’re all at different places in life. I’m not 85 years old. I’m just a working man, and probably, if I would have been offered that kind of money, I would have had to really strongly consider selling the horse.”[/I]

…

And another on the LITF factor

Daily Racing Form 7/8 “It’s all business for Lost in the Fog”

excerpt:

“The biggest upset on Saturday will be when Hot Space beats Lost in the Fog,” said [jokingly] Ralph Ziadie, who trains Hot Space for the Buckram Oak Farm. “Obviously Lost in the Fog will be very tough to beat, but I’m just hoping having him ship in from California to run over this track might help me a little. And running second to a horse of that caliber at this stage of our colt’s career wouldn’t be that bad either.”

[Glimmerglass]

Details regarding the quarter crack - from the prior day’s SF Chronicle (Sat 8-6-05)

[I]Lost in the Fog arrived at the fair’s barn area early Friday afternoon and will return to Golden Gate Fields on Monday. The trip was in jeopardy because of a quarter crack on his left hind hoof.

“It’s just Training 101,” Gilchrist said, downplaying the condition that afflicts many racehorses. “It’s just like a human having a cracked finger nail up into the cuticle. It can be very painful, but the main thing is you don’t want it to get infected. We are a lot more educated and have a lot more at our disposal nowadays to deal with this, like fiberglass patches.”

A patch was placed on Lost in the Fog’s hoof Thursday, and he galloped in a bar shoe (a shoe with a bar across the middle) Friday at Golden Gate Fields.

“The bar shoe absorbs some of the impact and protects the affected area,” Gilchrist said Friday. “He looked good galloping this morning, and we’ll jog him a mile tomorrow (today) at 6:30 a.m. just to make sure everything is fine. You don’t want to raise the white flag or start panicking, but it’s something you have to take care of, and it’s a day-to-day thing. There are plenty of things you can do; you just wish it wasn’t there.” [/I]

[Glimmerglass]

Originally posted by JER:
Pico Central is retired

Another one out of the BC Sprint.

JER, the Breeders’ Cup is looking to be such a non-event with the lack of horsepower on either side of the pond this year going to Belmont. Kitten’s Joy is a no-go; no Discreet Cat, who Godolphin just bought; nor two other Godolphin recent buys - Proclamation and Imperial Stride in the BC turf; Plus all the injured horses - Bellamy Road, Afleet Alex, Commentator, Declan’s Moon, Funny Cide, and so forth

In the Sprint, Wildcat Heir, who had the highest Beyer speed rating at 117 (higher than anything by LITF this year) is likely a no-go either due to a foot abscess.

All that will be there to pump of the US crowd will be Leroidesanimaux in the BC Mile and Lost in the Fog in the BC Sprint.

[Kinsa]

Just posted on the Saratoga webpage…here’s the lineup for Saturday:

Saratoga’s Saturday Card

The King’s Bishop is the 10th Race.

LITF is giving 2-6 lbs to the other horses, carrying 123 lbs. Anyone know what his prior weights have been?

[Glimmerglass]

200 of the faithful showed up at Golden Gate Fields at 9 am today to see LITF in his final workout. He’ll be shipped - via FedEx as always - to Belmont this Saturday.

Blood-Horse 10-20-05 “Lost in the Fog Works at Golden Gate; Ships Saturday”

With regular rider Russell Baze aboard, Lost in the Fog glided through his work, going the opening furlong in :12 1/5, the first quarter of a mile in :24, three furlongs in :36, and four furlongs in :48 1/5.

[A_Splash_of_Color]

Lost in the Fog
Date: February 12, 2006
Track: GOLDEN GATE FIELDS
Distance: Three Furlongs
Time: 36:20 Handily
Track Condition: Fast
Surface: Dirt
Rank: 2/12

And not to hijack this thread, but it was nice to see Rockport Harbor come back and win yesterday at Oaklawn Park.

[Glimmerglass]

Perhaps the most lengthy of articles on the horse I’ve seen. I won’t reprint the article as it is a bit excessive in it’s profanity and infrequently crass nature. Still its an interesting read:

SF Weekly 10-26-05 “Here Comes the Fog; The sprinter Lost in the Fog is the adored savior of horse racing in the Bay Area. Perhaps God brought him to us.”

Introduction:

[I]I have seen Lost in the Fog hats and Lost in the Fog shirts and Lost in the Fog oil paintings being sold alongside Lost in the Fog tote bags. I have seen a LST N FOG vanity plate and sipped a Lost in the Fog martini made with a hunk of dry ice.

I have heard people speak of Lost in the Fog, a 3-year-old thoroughbred who happens to be the most exciting racehorse in America, and swear they see in him the handiwork of God – the lopsided blaze along his face, for instance, which is regarded with about as much reverence as the imprint on the Shroud of Turin – and I have beheld the creature on a cold gray dawn in Albany, steam curling off his back and everyone around either too awed or too tired to talk, and I have, if only for a moment, understood why people might say such things. [/I]

… continued

[lizathenag]

I loved Harry’s acceptance speech. He said Secretariat, Citation and Man O’War all lost a few.

[Glimmerglass]

And what do you think happened?

Lost In The Fog sets the track record

TB Times 5/14/05 “Undefeated Lost in the Fog finds winner’s circle again in Golden Bear”

[I]Early fractions of :21.46 and :43.32 for the half mile were executed without effort. Lost in the Fog completed five furlongs in :54.92, which would have shaved more than one second off the track record had the race stopped there.

Around the turn and down the stretch, the only movement from Baze was to look behind to see how far away his competition was falling, as Lost in the Fog waved his ears at the roaring crowd. The answer at the finish was 10 lengths in front of Wind Water in a track record 1:07.32 [/I]

[gilmanr]

What a nice image, Mighty Mite. Frisco Star sounds a lot like his sire, More Than Ready. That guy was precocious, too, winning his first five starts, breaking the track record at Belmont (!) for 5 1/2 furlongs (102 and 2). While Aleo has demonstrated his restraint with LITF, Frisco Star might be destined for a more rigorous 3 y.o. campaign; More Than Ready aquitted himself well in the traditional preps before finishing fourth in the 2000 Kentucky Derby (FuPeg’s year).

I was mistaken (again) in my prediction of the foes LITF is likely to face in the King’s Bishop. Sensibly Chic and Acey Deucey will have their chance at LITF in the BC Sprint, not the King’s Bishop, which is for 3 year olds. Does anyone have any information on entries for this race, now that Bellamy Road appears to be ducking out?

[gilmanr]

From the Saratoga daily Notebook 8/22:

worked five furlongs in 1:00 4/5 over a muddy track for Greg Gilchrist with Prado aboard. He came out of his win in the Carry Back S. (G2) last month with a quarter crack and trained this morning with a bar shoe on. Keep track of shoe changes next Saturday when the King’s Bishop (G1) is run. If he’s still wearing the bar shoe he might be worth betting against.

I knew about the quarter crack, and Gilchrest said he’d use the bar shoe right up until the race. It seems inconceivable to me that Gilchrest would run a compromised LITF, after all the caution he’s demonstrated to this point. I don’t know anything about bar shoes; can someone explain the trackman’s concern?

[Glimmerglass]

another article …

DFW Star-Telegram: 1/7/05 “Clearly, ‘Fog’ on fast track, but to where, exactly?”

excerpt:

And then last month, Lost In The Fog turned in a jaw-dropping performance at Turf Paradise. He disputed a rapid pace, dueling through an opening half-mile in 43.78 seconds, and then drew clear to win the Arizona Juvenile Stakes by nearly 15 lengths, stopping the teletimer at 1:13.55 after 6 1/2 furlongs.

Young horses can’t move that fast – unless they’re riding in the back of a van. The clocking, which lowered the track record of 1:13.80 set by the speedy G. Malleah in 1994, was so other-worldly that at least one observer suspected a typographical mistake as he reviewed charts of the day’s races. But there was no mistake. The other 6 1/2-furlong races that day, for older horses, were run in 1:17.71 and 1:18.34.

For a horse to win so easily is, of course, very rare, and for a 2-year-old to set a track record at a commonly run distance is nothing less than extraordinary. Turf Paradise isn’t the major leagues, but its teletimer insists Lost In The Fog could be a major league racehorse.

[snip]

But Gilchrist, noting that the road to the Triple Crown can exact a heavy toll, said he’s not going to rush the colt’s development in an effort to get him to the Kentucky Derby. The Preakness, he said, is a more likely objective. Basically, he said, he’s going to allow Lost In The Fog to develop at his own pace, to define himself in his own fashion. And in that defining lies much intrigue

[system]

I am new to the forum but am a big Lost in the Fog fan. I am in NY and saw him at Saratoga and at Belmont. I didn’t realize it at the time but I small talked to Harry Aleo outside the Lady’s restroom at Saratoga. Didn’t know it until I saw him in the paddock in the center of the LITF hubbub.

[hitchinmygetalong]

Wait a minute. His owner is Harry Aleo? And he’s 85? As in 85 years old? Did you LOOK at his picture (link #3 above)?

That is one impressive-looking man.

Oh, and the horse ain’t bad-looking either.

[Glimmerglass]

Piece o’ cake today for LITF

Photo: LITF with Russel Baze up leading to win the Swale

Gulfstream Race #9 - Swale Stakes G-2

1 - Lost in the Fog
2 - Around the Cape
3 - More Smoke

Now Derby bound? Greg Gilchrist said if he won then they’d consider going to the Derby as “50-50”.

[Glimmerglass]

Originally posted by Drumbiggle:
I still think the hype on this fella is premature. The K’sB was his first grade 1, and in fairness the feild wasn’t great, plus he still has to race against older horses, so there’s plenty of unanswered questions.

I agree that before any serious talk of HOTY - as do his connections - he has to win his remaining races which include beating older horses.

Do I think he deserves the hype? I think as Greg and Harry has said, they’ve taken on all comers. If other elects to shy away and not enter they aren’t going to chase after “them” and get out gunned.

The horse does his job, does it exceptionally well, and for a whole host of reasons his 3-yr old campaign is one of the few bright spots in racing as a story line.

No drama in the sense that was generated with Afleet Alex - although Alex never broke track records like LITF has - but yet he still plugs away. He has traveled in 2005 with more frequent flyer miles and success than any other horse this year.

On the topic of 3-yr old HOTY if not LITF, who would be worthy of it? Again Alex recovered amazingly to win the Preakness yet won Belmont against a field that I can’t was overwhelming.

As for Bellamy Road he’s looked to be a one race wonder horse as so many other horses have been this year. Who is still a threat at the end of the year? No Declans Moon, no Rockport Harbor, no Sweet Catomine, no Scrappy T, no Galloping Grocer, no High Fly, no … well you get the picture. They win a big graded stakes race and poof they can’t return to the circle or even the track again.

Only one horse left that actually scares off other horses that I can see - Lost In The Fog

[Glimmerglass]

Who’s afraid of taking on the big bad wolf … would it be BR?

NY Post 8-4-05 - “Bellamy Road is Travers Possibility”

Would you really put him up gainst a well-tested field (albeit lackluster) in the richer Travers purse or go for at least a very good shot at “place” in the sprinting division?

[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…

[foundationmare]

What an AMAZING horse! What a thrill to watch him bat those competitors away like pesky flies. And how 'bout his owner Harry Aleo? What a spunky old dude he is…had me laughing my ass off!

[Glimmerglass]

Another article that gives a feel for the BC and Lost In the Fog: Boston Globe 10-28-05 “‘Fog’ needs to go the distance”

snips …

[I]Surrounded by reporters shortly after Lost in the Fog, a Sprint hopeful, drew post 7 on Wednesday, a jubilant D. Wayne Lukas flung an arm around Gilchrist and warned, ''You’ve got to live up to this, because I’ve been bragging on you."

• snip -

''Nothing bothers him, nothing," said Suzy Milne, Lost in the Fog’s exercise rider. ''I’ve never seen a horse as cool as him. He takes to flying better than people. He’s also effortless in the way he trains. Usually something will rattle them. He’s more about himself. He’s got this air about him. It’s almost like he’s psyching the horses out himself."[/I]