I am probably the biggest Lost in the Fog fan in the world. He was my favorite horse and what drew me into horse racing. I was there for his debut at GGF and have been amazed ever since. He was a remarkable horse that possessed the unfair combination of talent and heart.
The competition that he faced wasn't as bad as most say. He just made them look bad.
His career was short but dynamic. The 48,000 purchase had a 109 beyer as a 2 year old, won his first 10 races, dominated the competition in the Carry Back (116 beyer) a full second faster than those running in the Smile. When his body was full of cancer, he posted a 112 beyer in winning the Aristides against Golden Shaheen winner Kelly's Landing. "He probably had it the last three or four times he ran," Gilchrist said. "There were 100 pounds of tumors in that horse when they did the autopsy on him."
In regards to his Breeders Cup loss, Aleo believes Lost In The Fog may have been exposed to something harmful at Belmont Park that ignited the cancer before he ran in the Breeders' Cup.
"I'm sure it happened back there," he said. "Two stalls from him, there was a champion filly from Canada that ran bad the same day. And she died a month before The Fog with the same cancer. There was some rumor that they sprayed for rats or something, but I know he wasn't right that day, and so did Greg. He lunged out at me, and he never did that before. He put a bruise on my chest a foot in diameter. That's one of the symptoms of a sick horse"
I am not willing to say he was one of the best 3 year olds of the past 20 years because I don't have the same historical perspective as other, but he was a remarkable horse that could possibly have been one of the all time greats if he was allowed to prove it.
For a great article:
http://www.sfweekly.com/2005-10-26/n...comes-the-fog/