This Cal-bred daughter of Bring the Heat showed promise early on. Then came the valley period, where she kept finishing out of the money.

But then she found the peaks, and that catapulted her to the status of champion in her home state.

She could be called a horse-for-course at a certain track, but she put up good results at other venues, too.

Looking at her career, she was a true sprinter, and her talent for going short gave her multiple victories in the Southland.

She also found her way into more than one photo finish, whether it was for the win or another position. Make no mistake, she had no qualms about doing battle.

Over the course of her three years as a racehorse, Lost Bus experienced what could be called a low-key roller coaster ride thanks to her early success, lull in the middle, and resurgence later on.

Trained by Blake Heap, she put together a consistent freshman campaign, winning impressively on debut at Santa Anita before picking up a pair of minor awards at Del Mar. With Victor Espinoza aboard for all three starts, Lost Bus was fine going to the lead early (which happened in the first race), or staying near the leaders.

Coming back in March of 2015, Lost Bus promptly returned to the win column, taking her three-year-old debut at Santa Anita. That proved to be the highlight of the year for her. The next four starts resulted in off the board finishes. That phase of Lost Bus's career all came on turf at Saratoga, Del Mar and Santa Anita, and some were route races. It is possible that Lost Bus did not care to run on the grass or race long, for she wrapped up the year with a second at Los Alamitos and a third in Santa Anita's Kalookan Queen Stakes. Both of those efforts came on dirt, and Lost Bus now had a new trainer in Gary Sherlock after getting claimed at Del Mar that November.

After working with various jockeys in 2015, Lost Bus found a new pilot in Fernando Perez (who rode her the entire year). As it turned out, she immediately found redemption at four.

Racing at Santa Anita, Lost Bus took the Grade II Santa Monica Stakes after prevailing in an exciting stretch battle. She replicated that effort next time out in allowance optional claimer, then earned a nice third place score in the Grade II Great Lady M. at Los Alamitos.

A fourth followed in the Grade I Vanity Mile against champions Beholder and Stellar Wind, but Lost Bus put that in her rear view mirror when she took over in the stretch to win the Spring Fever Handicap at Santa Anita. Next she arrived at where she started, making another start at Del Mar. The race was the Grade III Rancho Bernardo Handicap, but it was not Lost Bus's day as she finished up in fifth.

Depsite that finish, the year was a good one for Lost Bus. It was the complete opposite of her three-year-old season, and her return to form earned her the title of Top Cal-bred Older Female for the 2016 season. That gave her the biggest victory of her career as she retired from the races with a record of five wins, two seconds and three thirds in sixteen starts.

Overall, Lost Bus accounted well for herself. She was a horse who did not give up. And when she was given a second chance on the main tracks after her turf experiment, she showed what she was made of.

Determination and heart resided within this bay filly, and those elements combined to take Lost Bus from claiming horse to graded stakes winner to division champion in California.