Remembering The Fog

Last week I said I would put the spotlight on one of my former stable stars. And where better to start than with the star that shone the brightest, and whose light was cruelly dimmed too soon.

When scouting for horses to include in my crops, it is always a pleasure to look through the photos for the Ocala Breeders Sales August Yearling Sale. When checking out horses for my 2002 crop, I came across a conformation photo of a dark bay yearling who carried the beautiful name Lost In The Fog. He was by Lost Soldier out of Cloud Break, a Dr Carter mare. Not a fashionable pedigree for sure. He looked balanced and strong for a yearling and had none of the awkwardness that many other yearlings have. His backside was already showing the promise of power. So, with such an impressive physique and a gorgeous name like that, how could I not include him. So in August 2003 into my stable the lovely dark bay colt went. Little did I expect the kind of ride that he would take me on.

He was bred by Susan Seper in Ocala, Florida. The story goes that she went to pasture to look for the weanling, but the field was covered in a blanket of fog. As she searched, this young horse emerged and walked towards her. And so Lost In The Fog was named.

He was owned by 85-year-old Californian Harry J Aleo and trained by veteran trainer Harry Gilchrist. I received his first official workout on 16 May 2004. He worked 2 furlongs in 24.40, good, but not spectacular. Towards the autumn his workouts made me sit up and take notice, he was consistently fast and I mentioned to someone about this colt that was working like lightning at Golden Gate Fields.

I was surprisingly nervous when he was entered into his first race on 14 November 2004 in race 3 at Golden Gate Fields. I wasn't the only one who had noticed him and he went off favourite. He was already an old pro it seemed. He sped to the front, set the pace and was easily best under a hand ride. Yes, I knew, this colt really could be something.

And something he was. He took me on a journey that none of my other horses have taken me on so far. He ran again and again and climbed up in the ranks, coming out top every time. That he was a sprinter I never doubted. One only had to look at those hind quarters to know that this horse was all about speed. And speed was something he had excesses off.

The first graded stakes win came in his 4th start in the Riva Ridge Breeders' Cup S (G2) at Belmont Park on 11 June 2005. He followed up with another G2 win in the Carry Back and a well-deserved G1 win in the King's Bishop S at Saratoga over 7 furlongs. Another win was recorded back in California in the Bay Meadows Speed H. Then on to the Breeders' Cup at Belmont, still undefeated and the fastest horse in the US. The Sprint was his for the taking and it was his to lose. He went off as a short-priced favourite. I couldn't watch the race, but was listening to the audio broadcast. My heart sank when he started to fall back late in the race. This was not like Fog, something had to be wrong. I was so disappointed. That was supposed to be his the diamond in his crown. He was the Eclipse Champion Sprinter, I just wished he would still be undefeated. One can ask for too much I suppose.

As a four-year-old he came back in the at the Golden Gate Fields Sprint S on 22 April. I was nervous, his Breeders' Cup loss still in my memory. He lost to Carthage. Again, I was baffled, had Fog lost his speed, his power? Was he just not quite fit? Churchill Downs was his next stop in the G3 Aristides Breeders' Cup H over 6f. I was so relieved when he won again and in a time quicker than the winning Sprint time had been. Was Fog back, was he going to take revenge?

Then came the Smile Sprint H (G2) at Calder. Surely Fog would show the field his heels and be back to his best. But he just did not fire. He finished 9th. I felt worried - something had to be not quite right. That was not the Fog of old!

His trainer Greg Gilchrist said after the race that he had not been quite right, but still believed he would run his race. In August he showed some discomfort, which was believed to be colic and he was taken to the University of California-Davis Veterinary School to be treated. There they discovered a mass in in the Fog's spleen that the doctors believed to be lymphoma. I remember seeing the first reports and my heart sinking. A few days later even graver reports came - more tumours were discovered and they were inoperable. He had a tumor the size of a football near the spine, a second large tumor in the spleen and a third in the membrane that suspends the spleen.

The vets told us that these tumours could have been growing there for four months, maybe even up to a year. It sure would have affected his last race but could it have caused him discomfort as far back as October 2005? But how much did that matter now I knew that my favourite horse would soon be no more.

The colt was brought back to his own stable to be cared for by his groom Pascual Garcia to live out his last days. Hopeful reports briefly came, Fog was going to undergo chemotherapy, but I was sceptical. But the end came, all too quickly.

Lost In The Fog lost his battle with cancer on Sunday 17 September 2006 when he was euthanized after he went into distress just after Gilchrist had grazed him.

I don't often cry, but I cried for Lost In The Fog. For him, for his connections, for all that could have been. Here had been a horse with so much talent, so much raw speed, and yet he was no longer here.

Necropsy revealed that the cancer was even more extensive than it had been believed. One tumour ran almost the length of his back. The cancer also involved his arteries, kidneys and intestinal organs.

Lost In The Fog earned $978,099 in a 14 race career, which included 11 wins and 1 second.

The star is gone, but his memory remains. He will always be special to me and to many others I am sure. Thank you Fog, for all the beautiful moments you have given me. I am so proud!

(Lost In The Fog (USA) - 2002 dkbr colt - Lost Soldier x Cloud Break, by Dr Carter)