Cashcall Winner Comma To The Top Ducks Tapizar and Heads to San Francisco

It appears as though connections of Grade 1 Cashcall Futurity winner Comma To The Top (Bwana Charlie) will be taking the path of least resistance as they opt for Golden Gates Fields and the El Camino Derby instead of opting for a run against fellow Derby hopeful Tapizar (Tapit) and the bigger challenge that awaits in the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes.

Comma To The Top was co-entered into the Robert B. Lewis but the fact that the race will be run on dirt complicates things for the Peter Miller-trained son of Bwana Charlie. He’s had a tidy layoff since making the Cashcall his third stakes score in a row and it was a Grade 1 score to boot. The victory catapulted Comma To The Top into the Derby framework and he boasts the most experienced track record of most of this year’s Big Dance hopefulls.

By opting for the El Camino over the Lewis, Comma To The Top becomes one of only a small handful of Grade 1 winner to tackle the race at Golden Gate fields. Observers expect him to go off as the significant favourite.

The simple fact is that Comma To The Top already boasts a stack of graded earnings – enough to secure him a stall at Churchill on May 7. Speaking to the Daily Racing Form, conditioner Miller stated “We don’t have any pressure… We could run once or not run at all.” He also went on to declare that “we’re going to try not to get overly excited.”

The $22,000 purchase at the Ocala sale in April of 2010 has gone on to amass some $444,000 in graded earnings – making the gelding a legendary value buy. The former claimer will be looking to win one for the geldings if he makes it all the way to Churchill and a victory in the El Camino also sets him on the path to a massive $5,500,000 bonus as the race is considered a qualifying leg in the Preakness bonus offered by MI Developments.