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Lost in the Fog diagnosed with terminal cancer Last year's champion sprinter LOST IN THE FOG (Lost Soldier) was found to have two additional tumors after undergoing a diagnostic procedure at the University of California-Davis (UCD) veterinary school, Dr. Don Smith, the colt's longtime veterinarian, said in a teleconference late Friday. The tumors are inoperable, and as a result, the colt's prognosis is terminal. When Lost in the Fog's quality of life deteriorates, then the decision will be made to euthanize him.Last Sunday, trainer Greg Gilchrist sent the four-year-old to the veterinary school to be treated for a suspected case of colic, but doctors discovered a mass on his spleen that they believed to be lymphomic. That tumor measures approximately 14 1/2 by 10 inches, the size of a football, according to Dr. Gary Magdesian, chief of equine medicine at UCD's large animal clinic. On Friday, a miniature camera inserted into the colt's abdomen revealed two more tumors. The smaller one was found in the membrane surrounding the spleen, and the larger one was discovered in his back, just under his spine, Smith said. King's Bishop S. (G1) winner Lost in the Fog won 11 of 14 starts and earned $978,099. The dark bay colt reeled off eight straight stakes wins at seven different tracks in 2005 before finishing unplaced in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). He finished second in his seasonal debut at Golden Gate Fields and then won the Aristides Breeders' Cup H. (G3) at Churchill Downs before finishing an uncharacteristic ninth in the Smile Sprint H. (G2) at Calder in his last start. In the UCD veterinarians' view, the tumors had been growing for at least four months and possibly as long as a year, according to Smith. That sheds light on what the colt has been battling all this season, not only in his races but in his daily training as well. Gilchrist said Lost in the Fog would be taken back to his stall at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday and will be made as comfortable as possible. The colt's "occasional episodes of discomfort" have been "minor so far," Smith said, and a "minimal level of painkillers" has been sufficient to keep him comfortable at present. "If that's not working, then we'll have to reach a decision," Smith added. While Gilchrist believes that deterioration could happen in as quickly as two weeks, Smith surmises that it may be postponed for as long as two or three months. When Lost in the Fog's life ends, Gilchrist said that the dark bay would be cremated and his ashes interred at the Florida farm where he spent his early life.
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