Lost in the Fog Going On Vacation

(edited release)
Lost in the Fog, who suffered his first defeat Saturday when he ran a disappointing seventh in the TVG Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) at Belmont Park, will now get a vacation.

"He's fine," reported trainer Greg Gilchrist Sunday. "He's going to Southern Chase Farm in Ocala, Florida. He'll certainly get November and December (off) and quite possibly January."

The break in training will be the first for Lost in the Fog since he began his career last November with a maiden victory at Golden Gate Fields. That win was followed by nine straight stakes victories, and several trips across the country.

Lost in the Fog appeared to be heading to win No. 11 in the Breeders' Cup when he surged to the lead approaching the stretch. The 3-year-old colt faltered in the final furlong, however, and faded to seventh.

"We probably pushed the button one too many times," said Gilchrist. "I think all the traveling finally got to him a little bit."

Lost in the Fog had trained very well for the Breeders' Cup and Gilchrist was confident going into the race, as were the fans that made him a 3-to-5 favorite. Gilchrist, however, became concerned about his horse's chances a few hours before the race when Lost in the Fog began to act up.

"Saturday he certainly wasn't himself," said Gilchrist. "He was nervous before the race and I'd never seen him nervous before. He was acting up. He acted like a horse that was upset about something. When you see that, it gives you a bad feeling. They just use up energy.

"When a horse acts like that, you usually don't get a very good performance," continued Gilchrist. "He basically only ran a half mile. He just didn't really put out Saturday."

Lost in the Fog heads to the sidelines after an outstanding 2005 campaign in which he won eight stakes in nine starts and earned $844,500. Overall, Lost in the Fog is 10-for-11 with $889,075 in earnings.