Champion Juvenile Corniche Moves to Pletcher

Owners Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner of Speedway Stable reported May 2 that their 2-year-old champion Corniche  will be sent to trainer Todd Pletcher following his layup at WinStar Training Center, with the Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1) as hopeful long-term targets.

The Quality Road   colt was previously trained by Bob Baffert, who is currently serving a 90-day regulatory suspension due to the 2021 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) post-race positive for betamethasone of Medina Spirit , who eventually was disqualified from his Derby win.

"After about 30 days of downtime just being a horse and eating grass, he began jogging and galloping and as reported, has now completed several excellent breezes and is ready to start serious training," the owners said in a prepared statement. "Since Corniche’s previous trainer, Bob Baffert, cannot begin training until the first week in July and, after a discussion with Bob, we felt that for Corniche to be ready to compete in June, it is necessary that we make a trainer change at this time. To that end, Todd Pletcher will commence training Corniche in early May. K C. and I are most appreciative of Bob’s brilliant handling of Corniche’s 2-year-old campaign and ultimately providing Speedway Stables with its first Breeders Cup winner and Eclipse award champion."

Corniche was undefeated in three starts last year, capping his juvenile season with a victory in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1) at Del Mar. Bought by agent Marette Farrell on behalf of Speedway for $1.5 million at the Ocala Breeders Sales Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, he has earned $1,262,000 so far.

Corniche worked for the first time this year April 15 at WinStar, going three furlongs in :36.80. He then breezed four furlongs in :48.94 April 23. Pletcher said the colt could be back at the racetrack within a few weeks.

"It sounds like (he'll join my barn) maybe a week or so after the Derby," the trainer told BloodHorse Monday. "I think (he'll have) at least one, maybe two works, before coming to me is my understanding."

"Todd has never trained for us but K.C. (Weiner) and I have great respect for him, as does our team, Marette Farrell and John Adger," Fluor told BloodHorse via phone Monday afternoon. "There are a lot of great trainers back East, but if you look at what he's done with colts and making stallions, he's done a wonderful job. So that played into it.

"The timing is one of the reasons for the switch. Corniche needs to train now. If he's ready, and Todd deems it appropriate, maybe we could get him a race in June and then next hopefully would be the Haskell and the Travers. 

"We felt compelled to make a decision now to get him ready by June or certainly by July. I called Bob (Baffert) and talked to him about it, told him what we were going to do and why, and that we had to do what was best for Speedway and Corniche. Bob understood we had to make a decision and move on down the road." 

Corniche adds to the list of graded stakes that have moved from Baffert to Pletcher which includes Life Is Good , Following Sea . and Cezanne , a grade 2 winner for Baffert and a $3.65 million 2-year-old buy who is entered in the May 7 Churchill Downs Stakes Presented by Ford (G1).

"Obviously he's a very gifted horse," Pletcher said. "Bob did a terrific job with him. I'm looking forward to getting to know him. We just had a brief discussion about him when the horse was coming in. We haven't talked about any specific goals or target races. We'll get him in. It sounds like he is training really well at WinStar. We'll assess his fitness level and come up with a plan."