Comma to the Top injures ankle; finished last in Kentucky Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Comma to the Top, who chased the pace before finishing last in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, suffered an injured ankle, his trainer Peter Miller said.

"It appears my horse chipped his left ankle," Miller told Churchill Downs officials. "We could see it when we brought him back. I believe we’ll have Dr. [Wayne] McIlwrath from Colorado State University take it out in the next little while."

Miller said that Comma to the Top would be out of training for at least 60 days following that surgery.

In Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, Comma to the Top, under Pat Valenzuela stalked the pace until for a mile before fading.

"This isn’t the end of the world, and hopefully it won’t be too bad," Miller said. "My horse tried; he always tries and for the first mile of the race he was right there. In the end it looks like we do have a real good miler or mile and a sixteenth horse. We got to run in the Kentucky Derby. How special is that?"

Comma to the Top, a son of Bwana Charlie, won 6 of 13 starts entering the Kentucky Derby. From last October through December, he reeled off five consecutive victories including a win in the Grade 1 Cashcall Futurity at Hollywood Park. He was winless in three starts this year, but was only beaten a head by Midnight Interlude in the Santa Anita Derby.

Comma to the Top was one of two horses to get injured in the Derby. Archarcharch suffered a condylar fracture to his left foreleg.