Lost in the Fog

Courtesy of CineVegas

By T.R. Witcher

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 | 10:01 a.m.

It’s impossible not to like cantankerous Harry Aleo, a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge and dyed-in-the-wool Reaganite who loves to tweak the “loony liberals” in his San Francisco neighborhood. Aleo, well into his 80s, buys Lost in the Fog, a horse with an unimpressive pedigree, then watches spellbound as the Fog reels off 10 wins. The astonishing run takes the pair from the horse-racing backwaters of northern California to the starting gates of horse racing’s elite events.

Among other pleasures, Lost in the Fog is a fascinating window into the world of big-stakes horse racing. During the winning streak, Aleo fields offers to sell the Fog for up to $12 million, all the while contending with an underlying dilemma—does he take his promising horse through the grueling warm-ups to compete in the ultimate race, the Kentucky Derby, knowing it may ruin the animal for good?

Thankfully, the horse remains an enigmatic character throughout. His human handlers praise his talent and courage, but they (and filmmaker John Corey) retain a fundamental respect for the otherness of this powerful animal. Instead it’s the love Aleo has for the Fog that is most winning. When Lost in the Fog triumphs at Saratoga, Aleo shouts, transfixed like a little boy, “What a horse! Shit—another one!”