Champion Corniche Makes 3-Year-Old Debut in Amsterdam

There is not an abundance of top-tier sprint races limited to 3-year-olds, and when they pop up, there's rarely a shortage of talent.

A perfect example is the $200,000 Amsterdam Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course.

The recent list of Amsterdam winners includes the grade 1-winning or -placed Jackie's Warrior , last year's champion sprinter, Yaupon  , Shancelot  , Promises Fulfilled  , Mind Your Biscuits , and Quality Road  , and the trend will continue with the July 31 edition at the Spa.

"This is a great race despite being a grade 2 stakes," said Jack Wolf, managing partner of Starlight Racing, part owner of grade 1 winner and Amsterdam starter Pinehurst . "There's like four or five stallions that have come out of the Amsterdam." 

The field of nine 3-year-olds for Sunday's 6 1/2-furlong stakes includes not just three grade 1 winners, but also a multiple grade 1-placed runner, and in the piece de resistance, the champion 2-year-old male of 2021 who will be making his long-awaited sophomore debut.

Speedway Stable's undefeated Corniche  will start for the first time since he capped his 2-year-old campaign with a 1 3/4-length victory over fellow Amsterdam starter Pappacap  in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1).

Much has changed for the son of 2009 Amsterdam winner Quality Road since that Nov. 5 victory. Given time to develop at 3, Corniche did not register his first timed workout until April 15 and missed the Triple Crown. Then, with original trainer Bob Baffert facing a suspension at New York Racing Association tracks, the colt bred by Bart Evans and Stonehaven Steadings was sent to trainer Todd Pletcher for a New York campaign that begins Sunday.

"There are no soft spots to land with a horse like him that's already won three races, so we're hoping we have him ready enough for a good showing in here. We didn't want to run him in a race like the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) or the Curlin Stakes off a lengthy layoff going nine furlongs," Pletcher said. "He's trained well and I thought watching his breezes that they are consistent with what I've seen watching videos of his breezes when he was with Baffert. He's a solid workhorse, but it also looks like he's one that knows the difference between the morning and the afternoon."

Pinehurst also started his career with Baffert and his connections faced a similar choice when they decided to race him on the East Coast, ultimately sending him to trainer John Terranova II, also in New York, with the intention of remaining with him for future stakes dates.

With an overflow owners line that also includes Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, Golconda Stable, and Siena Farm, Pinehurst will be making his first start since a tumultuous trip to the Middle East. 

Winner of the Del Mar Futurity (G1) at 2 for Baffert, the son of Twirling Candy   won the $1.5 million Al Rajhi Bank Saudi Bank Saudi Derby (G3),  a one-turn mile at King Abdulaziz Racecourse. Then he traveled to Dubai for the UAE Derby Sponsored by Mubadala (G2) at a 1 3/16-mile distance and had a dramatically different experience. Wolf said Pinehurst lost interest in running after getting a clump of dirt in the eye and jockey Flavien Prat basically walked him under the wire in 16th.

"(Prat) gave him a break and didn't finish up on him. It was a debacle. I don't think the distance mattered," Wolf said. "This race fits him perfectly. It won't be an easy race but he seems to be training well. He had some circumstances in the Dubai race that are in the past and this looks the best spot for him."

While Pinehurst and Corniche will be racing at Saratoga for the first time—and making their East Coast debuts for that matter—Winchell Thoroughbreds' Gunite  posted his grade 1 win at the Spa, a track well-known for its horses for courses.

"He did well over the track last year, so we'll see. They don't give you too much up there at Saratoga. You have to earn it," said David Fiske, racing manager for Winchell Thoroughbreds.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, the homebred son of Gun Runner   won the 2021 Hopeful Stakes (G1) by 5 1/4 lengths at seven furlongs, but after finishing fifth in the Champagne Stakes (G1) he developed a throat issue that sidelined him for eight months. He returned June 3 with a second in a seven-furlong allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs and then captured the July 3 Maxfield Overnight Stakes, also at seven furlongs.

"He had a throat infection over the winter that was hard to clear up so we sent him to WinStar Farm and put him through some hyperbolic chamber treatments and finally got it cleared up," Fiske said. "Anytime you mess around with a horse's throat you never know how they are going to come back, but so far he's been running and training really well."

Pletcher will also send out Lawana and Robert Low's My Prankster  while seeking a record-tying fifth Amsterdam win. The son of Into Mischief   was second behind Gunite in the Maxfield.

Rustlewood Farm's grade 2-winning homebred Pappacap notched his third runner-up finish in a grade 1 stakes last time when he checked in second, 10 lengths behind Jack Christopher  in the Woody Stephens Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun (G1).

Trainer Chad Brown will be represented by Klaravich Stables' Accretive , a Practical Joke   debut winner who scored by 5 3/4 lengths in a June 26 maiden race at Belmont Park.

Entries: Amsterdam S. (G2)

Saratoga Race Course, Sunday, July 31, 2022, Race 9

• Grade II
• 6 1/2f
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 3 yo
• 5:34 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Pinehurst (KY)	Flavien Prat	124	John P. Terranova, II	6/1
2	2Gunite (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	122	Steven M. Asmussen	4/1
3	3Hoist the Gold (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	Dallas Stewart	20/1
4	4Pappacap (FL)	Joel Rosario	122	Mark E. Casse	6/1
5	5Accretive (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Chad C. Brown	7/2
6	6Runninsonofagun (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	118	John T. Toscano, Jr.	20/1
7	7Corniche (KY)	Luis Saez	122	Todd A. Pletcher	5/2
8	8My Prankster (KY)	John R. Velazquez	124	Todd A. Pletcher	8/1
9	9Surfer Dude (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Dallas Stewart	12/1