Lost in the Fog

Bred by Susan Seper and foaled in Florida, his sire was Lost Soldier, (sire of 10 stakes winners and son of Danzig, who was the son of Northern Dancer—ranked #43 by The Blood-Horse in their top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century). His dam was Cloud Break, a Dr. Carter mare.[2] Unraced, Cloud Break is proving a successful broodmare; she also produced the stakes-placed How About My Place, by Out of Place. In foal to Speightstown, Cloud Break was acquired by WinStar Farm in 2005's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November mixed sale for $600,000. In 2006, she was sold to Charles Deter. He was a descendant of War Admiral and Secretariat.

Lost in the Fog was a $13,000 weanling and a $48,000 yearling. Not reaching his reserve in the 2004 two-year-old Ocala, Florida, Breeders' Sale in March (the stopping price was $195,000), he was sold privately for $140,000 to Harry Aleo, and throughout his short career was trained by Greg Gilchrist. Susan Seper said he was named because of a quizzical look caused by his offset/crooked blaze. He received his name just a few days after foaling.

Average win margin when undefeated: 6 3/4 lengths

Note: The Ocala Stud Dash Stakes is also known as the Sunshine Millions Dash as part of the Sunshine Millions series for Florida-bred and California-bred horses.

In August 2006, believing Lost in the Fog to be suffering from a mild bout of colic, his handlers took him to the California-Davis veterinary school. Performing a biopsy on the horse, the doctors discovered what they believed to be a cancerous mass on his spleen—a lymphoma "about the size of a cantaloupe." The doctors thought that surgery was likely, a rare operation but possibly one that could give Lost in the Fog a full life.

Gilchrist, his trainer, had thought that his horse's recent poor performances—winning only one of three starts this year—might have been due to quarter cracks. "It turns out he's been running with this thing inside him this year," he said. "It shows you what kind of warrior this horse is." Lost in the Fog's owner, Harry Aleo, was extremely concerned about his star horse: "We will do anything we can for the horse. It's almost a Barbaro-type situation."[4]

On August 18, the situation worsened. According to a report in The Blood-Horse, "Two additional tumors were discovered. The first, the size of an egg, was located in the membrane that suspends the spleen. The second, ... as large as the growth found originally on the spleen, is beneath [the horse's] spine along his back," which could not be surgically removed. Gilchrist didn't think it would appropriate to extend Lost in the Fog's life unnecessarily or subject the horse to surgery or chemotherapy.[5]

"We'll keep him in the stall for a week or 10 days," Gilchrist said. "This would be the best thing to do, get him back with his groom. I just couldn't leave him up there (at Davis) to be euthanized and thrown in the bone yard. We're fine with a week, 10 days, maybe two weeks," he said. "But you get beyond that, his quality of life wouldn't be good. This way we'll let the people who have always been around him take care of him. We'll bring him home and make him as happy as we can for awhile."[5]

Lost in the Fog was vanned back to his stall at Golden Gate Fields, where he was pampered for his remaining days. On September 17, 2006, he was quietly euthanized. The colt had been grazing, as he had done twice each day since the discovery of his cancer, when Gilcrist saw he was in obvious distress and ordered him to be euthanized. He said that Lost in the Fog was happy and peaceful until the end.[6]

An autopsy on Lost in the Fog revealed that the cancer was much more widespread than previously thought. The necropsy was performed at University of California at Davis. The doctors originally thought that the tumor, located directly beneath the spine, was about a foot in length, but it ran nearly the entire length of the horse's back.

Dr. David Wilson, director of the university's large-animal clinic and a member of the team who worked on the horse, said that the tumor "went all the way from his pelvis to invade and erode his diaphragm and chest cavity." The tumor also affected the horse's intestinal organs as well as his arteries and kidneys, encroaching on one kidney and compressing both. Coming up alongside Lost in the Fog's aorta and pressing against his blood vessels, the tumor caused swelling in his hind legs. In previous tests, other organs had partly hidden the tumor from view. Additionally, Lost in the Fog bore a football-sized tumor in his spleen.[7]

Harry Aleo was astounded that Lost in the Fog could perform at such a high level before his cancer was diagnosed. Doctors told the owner that the tumors could have been growing for up to a year. Only weeks before his death, however, the horse continued to record bullet workouts at Golden Gate. Lost in the Fog's remains were cremated. There had been discussion of their going to Greg and Karen Dodd's Southern Chase Farm in Williston, Florida, where the horse was raised.[5] However, arrangements were made for the colt's ashes to be buried at Golden Gate Fields, where he was stabled. He is buried next to Silky Sullivan.

• Article on Lost in the Fog's terminal diagnosis at Brisnet
• Article on Lost in the Fog's terminal diagnosis at Daily Racing Form (free registration at DRF required to read)
• SF Weekly profile of Lost in the Fog
• Article on the Fog's owner, Harry Aleo
• Article on Greg Gilchrist
• Article on Lost In The Fog Documentary
• Lost in the Fog documentary website