Lost in the Fog wins again

[henthorn]

The youngster who reportedly is not following the Triple Crown trail won another graded stakes today at Aqueduct at 3:16pm EDT. No surprise from anyone, as all the real competition is following a different path. Smart owners/trainers, just picking up checks. I hope I would not lose sight of the fun of the trip, and not just the destination.

[Mahubah]

I suspect the real competition for this guy is among the older sprinters. Sure like to see him measure up against Forest Danger this fall after watching the latter win today's Carter Handicap (G1) impressively.

[henthorn]

Mahubah, we almost never get to see the good 3yo sprinters doing their thing during the spring, because anyone with talent is automatically sent on the wild goose chase that rarely pays off, trying to stretch it out. The sprinters start to become obvious on the road to the Breeders' Cup instead.

[erins isle]

The trainer and owner of this horse do have some common sense. Such as forcing to try an obvious sprinter to do what his breeding will not allow. In my country the Derby is over 12 furlongs and I have seen many horses to join and coming out in a very bad way. They never reached their former level. One good example is one of our best sprinters Thunderbold (Man in the Moon USA), dam Fine Harmony by Music Boy). Fortunately the trainer convinced the owner that the horse couln't run in the Derby. It was a good thing, since the colt became one of our best sprinters ever after, even won several German handicaps. You may understand that the owner never regretted the decision. The trainer however is a very wise man, last season he achieved his 21st championship!

[henthorn]

Won't it be nice some day to be in a position to be making such decisions?

[Mahubah]

I think Lost in the Fog could get more distance than a pure sprint; after all, his broodmare sire is Dr. Carter, who won two G1 events at 10f. However, he'll probably stay better as he continues to mature, and it's really exciting to see an owner-trainer team that's smart enough to let the horse develop at his own pace and not run him into the ground trying to force that maturation in time for the Derby. I don't know that Lost in the Fog will ever be a true 10F horse anyway, but 8 and 9 furlongs may well be within his scope and would give him a lot of options for future campaigning.

[Mahubah]

P.S. Reminds me of Housebuster's 1990 campaign. His folks, too, were smart enough not to ruin him by pressing him along the TC trail, and he won the Jerome (G1) over a mile in the fall after being beaten, what was it, a neck? for the Metropolitan in May.

[louis finochio]

Bobby Frankel is pointing Ghostzapper for the Met. Mile, we will see If GZ has benefited from his R&R.

[freddymo]

I wanted to see Lost in the Fog to go in the Met.. I think he could get 8 panels (1 turn) Forest Danger and Zapper would be very tough horses for a 3 year old to beat! I still think he should try! What is the risk? losing to fine grade 1 winners is no disaster.

[ZiaLand]

Freddy, I agree 100%. It's time for this outstanding horse to start taking on some of the "giants". If he's really as good as he looks--and as good as many people think he may be--he should be given a chance to prove it.

I do admire his connections for NOT taking the Derby trail, though. Though I would have loved to see him run, the best interest of the horse is what always should come first, and I'm glad someone in his owner's position is standing up and making that statement.

Besides, if someday in the future these folks have another John Henry on their hands and are laughing all the way to the bank...I don't think anyone will second guess the decisions they made for this colt when he was a 3YO.

Laurie