Comma To The Top Injures Ankle

[nijinski]

He suffered a minor?? ankle injury in the Derby.
Will be sidelined several months , per Miller. :eek: :eek: :eek:

I didn't see any other front wraps out there today.

[nijinski]

Kind of surprised that some are outraged at Pletcher , but no concerns for this poor guy and his genius connections .

[turninforhome10]

Comma's got guts and he runs his heart out every time. Went to the well one to many times. I will always remember what Baffert said one time. "A race horse is alot like a checkbook you are never sure how many checks you can write and you are never sure how much is in the account".

[goingbroke]

That's tough to hear, I had him as my horse for a nice upset

[cj]

Kind of surprised that some are outraged at Pletcher , but no concerns for this poor guy and his genius connections .

What did his connections do wrong? The horse lost by a head in the Santa Anita Derby. Are you saying they knew the horse had problems because he wore front wraps? He has worn them his last three starts.

If so, that is a real "Stretch Armstrong" type reach.

[Mr_Ed]

2YO bow June 12........Derby 14th start.

[nijinski]

What did his connections do wrong? The horse lost by a head in the Santa Anita Derby. Are you saying they knew the horse had problems because he wore front wraps? He has worn them his last three starts.

If so, that is a real "Stretch Armstrong" type reach.

If you want I could try to look for the article where Miller stated after Commas last race , he was getting time off , probably until the fall.
Sounds to me like it would have done CTTT some good.

Stating that the horse was an overachiever , I think we new that , he's
one tough little guy . Those speedy efforts concern me with the way he bears out in the stretch. I asume can't confirm , from his last efforts he was
leg weary. In analyzing this race , he figured to end up last . Maybe you see
it differently . It just didn't seem like a good idea to put him thru the rigors
of the Derby .
I only recall him wearing wraps in his most recent outings . I wasn't happy about that.

[Stillriledup]

He didnt have fronts for his entire career, so something happened to make them think he needed them. I guess you can never go wrong entering a
'wide open' derby in a weak crop, but the connections did say before the SA Derby they were going to take some time off and did think their horse had distance limitations.

I guess the difference between a good trainer and a not so good one is that the good ones know where their horse belongs BEFORE having to toss him to the wolves and the not so good ones need to toss horses to the wolves in order to get that definitive answer.

[cj]

As I said, he has worn fronts his last three races now.

[BetHorses!]

LMAO @ Stretch Armstrong!!!!! CJ

[FenceBored]

As I said, he has worn fronts his last three races now.

Yeah, he's worn fronts all year (the 3 preps and the Derby). And what jumps out from the comments on those 3 preps? "Drifted out." So, he drifts out in the Generous, not mentioned in the Cash Call Futurity, but then for 2011 they add fronts and he drifts out every time. Then, miraculously they discover a chip right after the Derby. I'm not buying a ticket for the conspiracy trip, but I can see the logic train for thinking the chip has been there awhile, they knew about it and just held off on rest/surgery to take a shot at the Derby.

Now why he'd drift out with a chip in his left ... I'd think that if the left was hurting he'd shorten stride on that side and lug in. Maybe it wasn't hurting enough to shorten up, but enough to try to shift away from the discomfort?

[nijinski]

Yeah, he's worn fronts all year (the 3 preps and the Derby). And what jumps out from the comments on those 3 preps? "Drifted out." So, he drifts out in the Generous, not mentioned in the Cash Call Futurity, but then for 2011 they add fronts and he drifts out every time. Then, miraculously they discover a chip right after the Derby. I'm not buying a ticket for the conspiracy trip, but I can see the logic train for thinking the chip has been there awhile, they knew about it and just held off on rest/surgery to take a shot at the Derby.

Now why he'd drift out with a chip in his left ... I'd think that if the left was hurting he'd shorten stride on that side and lug in. Maybe it wasn't hurting enough to shorten up, but enough to try to shift away from the discomfort?

I'm not making the accusation that he knew of the ankle chip . I'll give
the trainer that much. Comma was spotted with a hoof patch after the
shoe loss incident and I tend to think he had a hoof issue .
The horse was removed , a definate scratch out in the derby pools before his brave second place finish last out and IMHO that scratch was a good decision .
Give him the time you said he deserved ,which he never got between his
two year old season and now.
This is a horse owned by Hollywood movie execs , a $33,000 purchase with
guts and heart ,the gelding made them them good cash , but his limits should have been considered.

[sjk]

He was very reluctant to change leads in the stretch in the last two preps which might make you think something was going on in the left front but surely no one thinks they would run a nice horse like that with a chip.

[horses4courses]

The circumstances of this injury are made all the worse when looking back at their stated intentions prior to the SA Derby.
"We don't intend to go to Louisville"

Of course, the SA Derby came up pretty light this year, especially in hindsight.
Seemed like an easy spot to pick up a nice check, and they did.

Should have stuck to their guns, too.

[Spalding No!]

He was very reluctant to change leads in the stretch in the last two preps which might make you think something was going on in the left front but surely no one thinks they would run a nice horse like that with a chip.

Horses run with chips all the time. War Emblem ran with chips in both ankles and a knee. Mineshaft was running with chips in 3 joints during his HOY campaign.

Maybe Comma To The Top already had his chip diagnosed prior to the Derby, maybe not. But it could have easily been there before the race.