LOST IN THE FOG WORTHY OF AWARD.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Horse Racing horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with ARCADIA - Now that Lost in the Fog 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 has run his won-lost record Noun 1. won-lost record - (sports) a record of win versus losses athletics, sport - an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition to a nice round 10-0, it's time to consider the ultimate honor for the popular colt and his uncommonly wise managers. Lost in the Fog for Horse of the Year? It's a long shot. A lot of things would have to happen in the Oct. 29 Breeders' Cup races at Belmont Park. To begin with, the San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay hero would have to win the Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds & up. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs (3/4 mile), the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the , win by daylight, and break stopwatches. Even then, a lot of Horse of the Year voters - journalists and racing executives - would prop at the idea of going for a pure sprinter who hadn't faced older horses until last Saturday and hasn't faced a ``name'' horse all year. Many would vote for any credible Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade 1 Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 years old and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles (2012 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. winner or fall back on Two Thirds of a Triple Crown winner Afleet Alex. Leading the skeptics might be Mike Watchmaker, the Daily Racing Form's widely read ``national handicapper hand·i·cap·per n. Sports & Games 1. One who assigns handicaps. 2. One who predicts the winners in a horserace, especially one who publishes such predictions as a guide for bettors. Noun 1. ,'' who has balked balk v. balked, balk·ing, balks v.intr. 1. To stop short and refuse to go on: The horse balked at the jump. 2. at calling Lost in the Fog a top horse, even among sprinters. Watchmaker ranks Lost in the Fog No. 2 in the sprinters division, below the recently retired Woke Up Dreamin, with the comment, ``Maybe he'll beat a real horse Oct. 29.'' It takes some contrary thinking to see this 3-year-old, by low-profile sire Lost Soldier and based at Golden Gate Fields Golden Gate Fields is a horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the in Albany, Calif., as a contender for thoroughbred racing's grand prize. Or to see him as a contender even for the 3-year-old division championship. But consider: After his 7 3/4-length victory with jockey Russell Baze last Saturday at Bay Meadows in San Mateo, in a 6-furlong race called the Bay Meadows Speed Handicap, Lost in the Fog is 8-0 this year with an average winning margin of 5 1/2 lengths, numbers that no other North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. horse can touch. His races include one at the Grade I level (the Kings Bishop at Saratoga) and three Grade II's (at Gulfstream Park, Belmont and Calder), so it's not as if he's been running in one Cupcake Stakes after another. His best Beyer speed ratings, 116 in the Calder race and 114 for the Bay Meadows race, are two of the nation's top five in the second half of the year. And by attracting 8,314 to Bay Meadows, double the usual Saturday crowd there, he displayed a little of the drawing power the sport craves. Has Lost in the Fog built his perfect record by running only in races where he's a heavy favorite, by waiting as long as possible to face 4-year-olds and up, by avoiding the longer races of the Triple Crown trail last spring? Of course. But - here's the contrary thinking - Lost in the Fog's one-dimensional schedule is a reason to embrace him, not condemn him. It's the reason to reward his trainer, Greg Gilchrist, and owner, 85-year-old Harry Aleo. Most trainers and owners manage young horses by the Peter Principle. They push horses into longer and longer races, against tougher and tougher competition, believing that's the only path to glory. Eventually they find the level where their horses fail, and sometimes, as in the case of too many Kentucky Derby hopefuls, the horses are physically ruined in the process. Gilchrist and Aleo figured out early what Lost in the Fog does best, and they haven't overreached. On April 9, the Saturday of the Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $750,000. and other big Triple Crown preps, Lost in the Fog won the 7-furlong Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct by 5 1/4 lengths at odds of 15 cents on the dollar. A vote for Lost in the Fog for Horse of the Year and outstanding 3-year-old - as well as outstanding sprinter - would send horsemen a healthy message: You can run your horses where they belong and still achieve prestige, and still pull in the crowds. A long shot, as I said. Usually, the Horse of the Year is a 3-year-old or older male, with 1 1/4-mile victories. Although 2-year-olds, fillies and mares, and turf specialists have been named Horse of the Year, no pure sprinter has ever won the top honor. But what if the more-exalted divisions remain jumbled? What if Lost in the Fog keeps winning? It's too soon to promise him a Horse of the Year vote. It's not too soon to print up the bumper stickers. CAPTION(S): box Box: OUT OF THE GATE BY KEVIN MODESTI |
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