He got here, just like the fog in Carl Sandburg’s well-known poem, silently. For a time he lingered, simply lengthy sufficient for his presence to be acknowledged. After which, just like the fog, he moved on, all too quickly, leaving everybody to marvel what might need been.
His identify, in fact, was Misplaced within the Fog.
Born in 2002, the son of Misplaced Soldier referred to as Golden Gate Fields in Northern California his house, however he made stops in many of the main racing states, as a result of he had no desire for a single monitor – because the saying goes, he carried his monitor with him. For coach Greg Gilchrist, he was the horse of a lifetime – the Grade 1 winner, the champion he’d been looking for for almost 30 years.
Misplaced within the Fog was quick, of that there was little question. The good Florida-bred colt received the primary 10 begins of his profession, all of them sprints, and on 9 events he received effortlessly by 4 lengths or extra. As a 3-year-old in 2005, he journeyed throughout the nation thrice to Florida and 4 occasions to New York, successful 5 graded stakes races by merely working his rivals off their toes. He was hardly ever crushed to the lead, and the few horses that had the audacity to run with him paid the value – Misplaced within the Fog would energy away they usually pale within the stretch.
Forging a partnership with Corridor of Fame jockey Russell Baze, the all-time chief by North American wins, Misplaced within the Fog was a seemingly unstoppable power. After successful quite a lot of stakes races throughout the nation, together with the Grade 2 Riva Ridge Breeders’ Cup Stakes at Belmont Park and the Grade 2 Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park, Misplaced within the Fog introduced his California connections to the top of racing – a Grade 1 at historic Saratoga. The race was the King’s Bishop Stakes, maybe probably the most prestigious dash within the nation for 3-year-olds, and to win the race, Misplaced within the Fog must defeat a gaggle of challengers educated by such famend horsemen as Carl Nafzger, Steve Asmussen and Bob Baffert.
In idea, it ought to have been a problem. In actuality, Misplaced within the Fog by no means gave them a combating probability and received by almost 5 lengths. For Gilchrist, it was the primary (and ended up the one) Grade 1 win of his profession. For Baze, it was simply his fourth Grade 1 win, and his first outdoors of California.
It appeared as if there was no problem too nice for Misplaced within the Fog, and in October, he ventured again to New York because the heavy favourite to win the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dash at Belmont Park. He was so effectively revered by the bettors that he went off at odds of 7-10, and solely certainly one of his 10 rivals began at lower than 10-1.
However this time, one thing was completely different. Three horses beat Misplaced within the Fog to the early lead, and whereas he battled again and was in entrance with only a furlong to go, his strides faltered when it counted and he completed seventh within the first defeat of his profession.
A winter break was alleged to deliver him again to type – maybe his quite a few cross-country journeys had taken a toll. And whereas he misplaced his 2006 debut, ending a shocking second within the Oakland Tribune Golden Gate Fields Dash Stakes at his house monitor, there was trigger for celebration when he received the Grade 3 Aristides Breeders’ Cup Handicap on June 3, 2006, at Churchill Downs. It wasn’t his most decisive victory, however he was again within the winner’s circle.
Nobody knew on the time that Misplaced within the Fog had most cancers.
Simply 2 ½ months later, after Misplaced within the Fog had completed a disappointing ninth within the Grade 2 Smile Dash Handicap, an examination revealed that Misplaced within the Fog was affected by a number of massive, inoperable tumors. Provided that most cancers is comparatively uncommon in horses, the invention got here as a shock, but in addition as a potential clarification for Misplaced within the Fog’s defeats. The Aug. 26, 2006, version of BloodHorse famous that veterinarians “estimated the tumors had been creating for at least 4 months and maybe for so long as a 12 months.”
Efforts had been made to shrink Misplaced within the Fog’s tumors to the purpose that chemotherapy or surgical procedure might extend or save his life, however on Sept. 17, the colt took a flip for the more severe and was euthanized.
“As a lot as he completed, we’ll by no means know the way good he actually was,” mentioned Gilchrist throughout a teleconference that was quoted by Bloodhorse.com. “What a warrior, to win a graded stakes race three months earlier than he was put down. He by no means allow us to down, and we did not ever need to let him down.”
Misplaced within the Fog was buried at Golden Gate Fields. Greater than 17 years have elapsed since his premature passing, however reminiscences of the sensational sprinter nonetheless burn as brightly as fog on a sunny morning at Saratoga, the place he carried his connections to the best of heights.
Notice: This story was first revealed in July 2017 and has been up to date. Golden Gate Fields held its last day of racing on June 9, 2024.
Enjoyable Details
- Misplaced within the Fog retired with a file of 11 wins and one second from 14 begins, with earnings of $978,099.
- Regardless of his defeat within the Breeders’ Cup Dash, Misplaced within the Fog was named champion sprinter on the 2005 Eclipse Awards.
- Misplaced within the Fog was bred by Susan Seper and owned by Harry J. Aleo.
- Golden Gate Fields named a stakes race after Misplaced within the Fog.
