Legends of the Track: 2022 Kentucky Derby Winner Rich Strike's Comeback, The Remarkable Career of Dazzling Sprinter, Lost in the Fog + Racing Lee’s Picks for Saturday at Sandown!

Saturday Edition - June 15th, 2024 (Edition 117)

Jun 15, 2024

Good Morning!

Today, we revisit the career of the dazzling sprinter, Lost in the Fog. This brilliant Florida-bred colt was undeniably fast, winning the first 10 starts of his career. In nine of those races, he effortlessly won by four lengths or more. As a 3-year-old in 2005, he traveled across the country, winning five graded stakes races races by simply running his rivals off their feet. He was rarely beaten to the lead, and the few horses that had the audacity to run with him paid the price.

The big racing festival in the UK kicks off on Tuesday, and we preview the 2024 Royal Ascot: Best Races, Top U.S. Horses, How to Watch, and Bet.

Interesting news from the backstretch: Rich Strike is ‘A Few Days' Away From Joining Mott. The 5-year-old son of Keen Ice, unraced since finishing fifth in the Alysheba Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs on May 5, 2023, is making a comeback. Hoping to restart the racing career of 2022 Kentucky Derby (G1) who has bee dealing with suspensory ligament issues, owner Rick Dawson announced on Facebook that the plan is to move the horse into Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott's barn in a few days.

The postponed running of the Beverly R. Steinman 'Chase has been redrawn for Aqueduct on June 20th. With Abaan not reentered, Riverdee Stables' Awakened carries top weight and seems to be the horse to beat.

What am I wagering on? In the UK, check out Racing Lee’s selections for Saturday at Sandown Park and in the USA, Jeff of Charting Horse Value analyzes Race 10 at Monmouth.

What am I listening to? At The Races with Steve Byk.

And finally, today’s trivia question: Can you name the British racecourse where Steve Cauthen made his British debut in 1979 riding Marquee Universal to victory?

Riders up!

Steve

Legends of the Track:

Lost in the Fog: A Courageous and Dazzling Sprinter

Lost in the Fog and Russell Baze win the 2005 Carry Back Stakes. (Eliot J. Schechter/BloodHorse photo)

He came, like the fog in Carl Sandburg’s famous poem, silently. For a time he lingered, just long enough for his presence to be acknowledged. And then, like the fog, he moved on, all too soon, leaving everyone to wonder what might have been.

His name, of course, was Lost in the Fog.

Born in 2002, the son of Lost Soldier called Golden Gate Fields in Northern California his home, but he made stops in most of the major racing states, because he had no preference for a single track – as the saying goes, he carried his track with him. For trainer Greg Gilchrist, he was the horse of a lifetime – the Grade 1 winner, the champion he’d been seeking for nearly 30 years.

Lost in the Fog was fast, of that there was no doubt. The brilliant Florida-bred colt won the first 10 starts of his career, all of them sprints, and on nine occasions he won effortlessly by four lengths or more. As a 3-year-old in 2005, he journeyed across the country three times to Florida and four times to New York, winning five graded stakes races by simply running his rivals off their feet. He was rarely beaten to the lead, and the few horses that had the audacity to run with him paid the price – Lost in the Fog would power away and they faded in the stretch.

Forging a partnership with Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze, the all-time leader by North American wins, Lost in the Fog was a seemingly unstoppable force. After winning a variety of stakes races across the country, including the Grade 2 Riva Ridge Breeders’ Cup Stakes at Belmont Park and the Grade 2 Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park, Lost in the Fog brought his California connections to the pinnacle of racing – a Grade 1 at historic Saratoga. The race was the King’s Bishop Stakes, perhaps the most prestigious sprint in the country for 3-year-olds, and to win the race, Lost in the Fog would have to defeat a group of challengers trained by such renowned horsemen as Carl Nafzger, Steve Asmussen and Bob Baffert.

In theory, it should have been a challenge. In reality, Lost in the Fog never gave them a fighting chance and won by nearly five lengths. For Gilchrist, it was the first (and ended up the only) Grade 1 win of his career. For Baze, it was just his fourth Grade 1 win, and his first outside of California.

Read the full article at americasbestracing.net

Watch lost in the Fog destroy the field in the 2005 King's Bishop Stakes

2024 Royal Ascot Preview: Best Races, Top U.S. Horses, How to Watch and Bet

The prestigious Royal Ascot meet draws spectators from England and overseas for five days of pomp and circumstance, including an appearance by King Charles, along with elite horse racing. (Eclipse Sportswire)

With the 2024 U.S. Triple Crown season completed, the focus of the horse racing world shifts from Saratoga Race Course to across the pond for one of the most prestigious events on the annual calendar. The five-day Royal Ascot meet begins Tuesday, June 18, at gorgeous Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire, England. The royal meeting will bring many of the top horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a handful from the U.S., together for 35 races with a total of £10,050,000 (about $12.75 million U.S.) in prize money up for grabs.

Royal Ascot is similar to big U.S. events such as the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup World Championships because it’s about much more than just horse racing. The five days are filled with fashion, celebrity watching, and an historic brand of pomp and circumstance tied into the British monarchy (Ascot Racecourse was founded by Queen Anne in 1711).

King Charles at Royal Ascot in 2023. (Eclipse Sportswire)

This year will be the second Royal Ascot meet with King Charles III on the throne; Queen Elizabeth II, a leading ambassador for international horse racing, served as monarch for 70 years until her death on Sept. 8, 2022.

While the entire Royal Ascot experience is a major attraction for throngs of Brits eager to enjoy a highlight of the summer social calendar in person, for most of us Yanks it is the horses, TV coverage, and betting that are the focus. Enjoy ABR’s guide to the 2024 Royal Ascot meeting.

When It Happens:

The meet runs from Tuesday, June 18 through Saturday, June 22. Seven races are carded each day, and the first post is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET (2:30 p.m. local time). The last race each day is scheduled to run at 1:15 p.m. ET (6:15 p.m. local time).

Read the full article at americasbestracing.net

Charting Horse Value analyzes Race 10 at Monmouth Park.

The PLUS sign "+" after the ABC letter grade is the best horse to bet on based on both the ABC letter grade and the VALUE score. The "s" before the ABC letter grade means this horse is a spot play and is one of the best plays on the entire day for all races and tracks.

Visit Jeff’s website at chartinghorsevalue.com

Betting Sandown Park:

Check out Racing Lee’s selections for Saturday at Sandown Park.

Read the full article at copybet.com

Dawson: Rich Strike 'A Few Days' Away From Joining Mott

Rich Strike wins the 2022 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs

Dr. Larry Bramlage has monitored his health after light training at Margaux Farm.

Hopeful of restarting the racing career of 2022 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Rich Strike after time away for suspensory ligament issues, owner Rick Dawson posted on Facebook June 13 that the plan is to move the horse into the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott "in a few days."

Dawson continued, "Richie's training will be stepped up slowly and forwardly over the next month or two. Should he continue to stay sound after more training is implemented, we will look for a first race that fits him coming back from over a year off the track."

Dawson did not specify whether Rich Strike would join Mott at Saratoga Race Course, his principal stabling location for many of his best horses, or with the trainer's satellite division in Kentucky.

Also Thursday, Dawson posted a video of famed equine surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage monitoring the colt jogging while visiting Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital for a checkup. Accompanying the video, Dawson wrote that Rich Strike was given an ultrasound test, and "all is good." He added that Bramlage says, "He's looking great!!"

Read the full article at bloodhorse.com

Jump Racing:

Awakened Tops the Field for Beverly R. Steinman 'Chase

Awakened wins the 2023 Jonathan Sheppard Handicap at Saratoga Race Course

Curlin gelding seeks his first victory since taking last year's Jonathan Sheppard.

Hall of Fame trainer Jack Fisher has entered a trio of contenders, led by Grade 1-winner and highweight Awakened, in Thursday's rescheduled inaugural running of the Grade 1, $150,000 Beverly R. Steinman, a 2 3/8-mile handicap for older steeplechasers, at Belmont at the Big A.

The Steinman was originally slated for June 9 on the final day of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course, but was rescheduled to Thursday at Aqueduct Racetrack after strong rains forced the cancellation of turf racing that day.

The race is named for Beverly R. "Peggy" Steinman, who has successfully balanced decades of ownership in both the steeplechase and flat racing worlds with stars such as Dark Equation, who captured the 2008 Grade 1 New York Turf Writers Cup, and Colstar, a multiple graded stakes-winning filly who won more than $1 million on the flat.

The most significant change from Sunday's initial field was the withdrawal of the formidable highweight Abaan. With his defection, the new highweight is Riverdee Stable and Ten Strike Racing's Awakened [Sean Flanagan, 158 pounds].

Read the full article at bloodhorse.com

At The Races with Steve Byk

Royal Ascot Preview with Nick Luck

Listen to the Steve Byk Podcast

Where on Earth?

Can you name the British Racecourse where Steve Cauthen made his British debut in 1979 when he rode Marquee Universal to victory?

To find the answer visit Steve’s Twitter/X page and scroll through the comments

Riders Up!

Best, Steve

USASteeplechase

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