In the wake of Lost in the Fog's ninth-place finish Saturday in the Grade 2 Smile Sprint at Calder, trainer Greg Gilchrist said that he and owner Harry Aleo are giving thought to retiring the colt. Lost in the Fog, the champion sprinter of 2005, will get a rest, Gilchrist said, and a decision on his future will be made when he returns to training.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Tothe-moonandback, the leading 3-year-old sprinter at Woodbine, seeks his third consecutive stakes victory Wednesday in the $125,000 Deputy Minister.

The 7 1/2-furlong event for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds will be the first start around two turns for Tothemoon-andback, who should be able to handle the tight inner-track oval, according to trainer Reade Baker.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - It was a long time coming, but Ambitious Cat finally cracked through for her first stakes score in last Saturday's Grade 2, $305,900 Dance Smartly here at Woodbine.

Ambitious Cat, a Kentucky-bred 5-year-old by Storm Cat, had made seven previous appearances in turf stakes, never finishing worse than fifth or beaten more than 3 3/4 lengths.

T.H. Approval, the star of trainer Eduardo Inda's four-horse stable, is gaining that status in turf marathons in California. Sunday at Hollywood Park, T.H. Approval won his second stakes of the year in the Grade 2, $159,700 at 1 1/2 miles on turf.

Horseplayers plotting their summer wagering strategy can identify with an old Yogi Berra baseball cliche. The game, he said, is "90 percent mental, the other half is physical."

The malapropism can be applied to handicapping at Del Mar, the Southern California resort where much of the year's best racing for 2-year-olds and grass runners takes place just furlongs from the Pacific Ocean. The horses still do most of the work, but a successful season for bettors is "90 percent mental."

While more than 200 different trainers will start horses at Del Mar during the 2006 race meet, the 20 horsemen below are sure to have a significant impact on the season. Though they represent less than a tenth of the Del Mar trainer population, they combined last year to win nearly half the races.

Listed alphabetically, the following trainer capsules provide horseplayers with a preliminary look at the horsemen expected to dominate the California racing scene for 43 days this summer. Unless noted otherwise, statistics are Del Mar-specific.

Bob Baffert

2005 Meet Diary

Wednesday, July 20

The first three main-track winners raced wide, establishing a trend that held up the first five days of racing. The outside-friendly profile was not severe enough to call a "bias," but horses racing three-wide were in the comfort zone. It would be difficult for any horse to withstand pace pressure racing inside.

Freshman sires will be showcased aplenty at this Del Mar meeting, and they include Officer, Johannesburg, Came Home, and Mizzen Mast. Del Mar regulars will fondly remember the exploits of Officer, who romped to victories in the 2001 Del Mar Futurity and Best Pal Stakes. He has transmitted his brilliant speed to his offspring and currently leads all freshman sires with six winners. Johannesburg, the 2-year-old champion who defeated Officer in the 2001 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, is also doing well, with five juvenile winners.

FORT ERIE, Ontario - Controversy reigned in the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes here at Fort Erie on Sunday as Malakoff finished first but was disqualified and placed fifth following a stewards' inquiry.

Shillelagh Slew, who had finished 1 1/2 lengths back in second place in the 1 3/16-mile race for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds, was awarded the win when Malakoff was demoted after being judged guilty of causing interference in the final furlong under jockey Todd Kabel.

Midnight Shadow ($3.40) held off a charging Lucas Stretch to take Sunday's $150,400 Shady Wells Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Woodbine Midnight Shadow broke on top in the five-furlong dash before pressing On the Podium through a rapid opening quarter in 21.24 seconds.

They dueled around the turn, and Midnight Shadow assumed command through a half-mile in 44.55. Midnight Shadow's lead diminished in the final sixteenth, but she dug in and won by a neck over Lucas Stretch, who failed to switch leads in the stretch.