Breeders' Cup Juvenile: Which road will Corniche take to Kentucky Derby?
DEL MAR, Calif. - Though his victory in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar stamped Corniche as the early favorite for next May’s Kentucky Derby, it wasn’t a topic Bob Baffert was interested in discussing Sunday morning.
“We’re not going down that road, that’s a long way off,” Baffert said Sunday morning.
Baffert is currently banned from participating in the Kentucky Derby through 2023, owing to the medication-positive incurred by Medina Spirit from this year’s Kentucky Derby. Further, horses trained by Baffert are not eligible to earn qualifying points toward the Derby. Corniche would have earned 20 points for his victory in the Juvenile as well as 10 points for his victory in the American Pharoah in October.
Owner Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner of Speedway Stable will have a decision to make whether to move the horse to another trainer or risk not running in the Derby pending any legal battle Baffert may or not get into with Churchill Downs.
For now, Baffert is just interested in keeping Corniche happy and sound.
“Our goal is to keep him healthy, no plans for him right now,” he said.
If Corniche remains in Southern California, the Santa Anita road to the Kentucky Derby includes points-scoring races such as the Robert Lewis on Feb. 6, the San Felipe on March 5, and the Santa Anita Derby on April 9.
Pappacap, the Juvenile runner-up, was shipped to Ocala, Fla., on Saturday morning. Trainer Mark Casse said Pappacap, after a brief freshening, will most likely take the Fair Grounds route to the Kentucky Derby, and could make his 3-year-old debut as early as Jan. 22 in the Lecomte Stakes. The Fair Grounds program also includes the Risen Star on Feb. 19 and the $1 million Louisiana Derby on March 26.
Casse said he’s used the Fair Grounds route to get War of Will (2019) and Enforceable (2020) to the Kentucky Derby in recent years.
“They have a good series of races there,” Casse said. ”I think it’s a little better for a horse that closes a little bit.”
Pappacap chased Corniche from the inside and, when tipped off the rail by Joe Bravo in the stretch, just couldn’t catch that horse.
“He ran a big race [Saturday],” Casse said. “He’s a good horse and he’s going to get better. He hasn’t filled into his frame yet. He’s going to get bigger, and stronger.”
Giant Game, third in the Juvenile, shipped back to Kentucky on Saturday and will be stabled at Gulfstream Park for the winter, trainer Dale Romans said. Giant Game was running in the Juvenile off winning a 1 1/16-mile maiden race at Keeneland on Oct. 3.
“I was happy with him, good horses, good race,” Romans said. “The top three ran great races.”
Jack Christopher, the morning-line favorite for the Juvenile, was scratched the day before the race by Breeders’ Cup veterinarians due to a shin issue.
“He has a callous on his shin that they were uncomfortable with,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He’s sound. He’s never taken a lame step, but we were forced to scratch.”
Brown said Jack Christopher was sent to Kentucky to have further diagnostic tests done on him “to make sure he’s good to put back in training,” he said.
Brown said he would await the results of those tests before deciding how to proceed with Jack Christopher, who won his first two starts, including the Grade 1 Champagne.
Commandperformance, fourth in the Juvenile, will get a short break in Kentucky before rejoining trainer Todd Pletcher’s string at Palm Beach Downs around the start of 2022, Pletcher said.
- additional reporting by Jay Privman