'Fog' foes resigned to inevitable

ALBANY, Calif. - On paper, Lost in the Fog seems invincible as he guns for his sixth straight victory - and sixth straight triple-digit Beyer - in Saturday's $150,000 Golden Bear Breeders' Cup Stakes at Golden Gate Fields. The six-furlong race for 3-year-olds drew only three horses.

has yet to be tested and shouldn't be tested in Saturday's race, in which he has drawn post 3, outside multiple stakes winner Wind Water and Olympic Miler.

Owner Harry Aleo said he knows Lost in the Fog will be a heavy favorite, but, he said, "I'm still very apprehensive."

"We ran on the same card as Bellamy Road when he won the Wood, and it didn't look like he could lose in the Derby," he said.

Kjell Qvale, who owns Olympic Miler, said he wants to win but wouldn't mind running second.

"In a way, I would hate to see Lost in the Fog lose, but I'd like to see my horse win," Qvale said. "It would be exciting to win, but there'd be a little sadness, too, because that might mean something went wrong for Lost in the Fog.

"I don't expect to win, but you never know. How can you be surprised at anything after the Kentucky Derby?"

Brian Koriner, who trains Wind Water, said he is planning to attack Lost in the Fog as soon as the gates open.

"He'll just run his race," Koriner said of Wind Water. "My horse has never shown he can pass anyone, and I don't see him passing Lost in the Fog. If it takes quarter-horsing it away from the gate to get the lead, we'll do it. I don't plan to sit and wait. I know my horse can go 21 and 3, 44 and 2. I think my horse will be on the lead, but [Lost in the Fog] will probably get me when he wants."

That's the way the race should play. Wind Water, breaking from the rail, will probably lead down the backstretch, with Lost in the Fog taking over on the turn and prevailing through the stretch.

Greg Gilchrist, who trains Lost in the Fog, compares Lost in the Fog to Soviet Problem, the filly he trained to a second-place finish in the 1994 Breeders' Cup Sprint.

"He puts horses away in the second quarter," he said. "Anyone can run a fast quarter, but he puts them together."