DEL MAR, Calif. -- Bob Baffert and his owners are living in the moment. The future can wait. On what was billed as “Future Stars Friday” at Del Mar, it was the Baffert-trained Corniche who dominated the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, scoring a 1 3/4-length, gate-to-wire victory under Mike Smith to complete an undefeated 2-year-old campaign that is likely to culminate in a championship. Typically, the winner of Juvenile becomes the winter-book favorite for the Kentucky Derby. Therein lies the rub. Baffert is currently under suspension by Churchill Downs through the 2023 Kentucky Derby because of the finding of the legal therapeutic medication Betamethasone in the post-race test of Medina Spirit following his Kentucky Derby victory in May. The drug is not permissible to be in a horse’s system on race day. Baffert maintains that Medina Spirit was treated with a topical ointment to clear up a skin rash and that ointment contained Betamethasone. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has not yet issued a ruling on the case. The finding - first announced by Baffert himself - started a tumultuous six months for Baffert, who emphatically claims he did nothing wrong and has just tried to go about his business of training horses as best he could. “The outside chatter, I don’t listen to that,” Baffert said. “I just focus on my horses. The Medina Spirit thing, we were doing the right thing. We were using a legal, FDA-approved ointment on him. It’s crazy. What got me through this is I know we didn’t do anything wrong.” Many of Baffert’s owners have stayed with him. In the case of Corniche, those owners are Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner, who race under the name Speedway Stables. In April, they spent $1.5 million at the OBS April sale on a 2-year-old son of Quality Road who became Corniche. Corniche won his debut at Del Mar on Sept. 4 by 4 1/4 lengths and then came back to win the Grade 1 American Pharoah at Santa Anita by 3 1/4 lengths. The American Pharoah and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile both offer qualifying points to next year’s Kentucky Derby, but Churchill Downs announced they would not award points to a horse trained by an individual who is suspended from racing in the 2022 Kentucky Derby. Fluor said he has not come up with an alternate plan to get Corniche to the Kentucky Derby. “All we have is a plan A,” Fluor said. “This race was such a big race and what it means to him and his career. We said Bob’s doing a great job, we have a better chance to win this race with Bob Baffert than without him so we’re enjoying the moment and down the road we’ll figure out something.” Mike Smith had to figure out how to work out a trip on Corniche from the outside post. The job was made somewhat easier when Jack Christopher, the 9-5 morning-line favorite, was scratched by Breeders’ Cup veterinarians on Thursday due to a shin issue. Smith said that scratch did not alter his strategy. He was able to get Corniche to the front by the first turn and was able to set reasonable fractions of 23.03 seconds for the quarter and 46.15 for the half-mile while maintaining a one-length advantage over a host of pursuers that included Pinehurst, Commandperformance, and Barossa. Corniche ran six furlongs in 1:10.81 and was actually widening his margin a little bit. Turning for home, Pappacap, on the inside under Joe Bravo, and Giant Game, on the outside under Joe Talamo, loomed threats. But Corniche kept on going and those two never really got close. Corniche covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.50 and returned $4.80 as the favorite. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 91. “He reminds me a little bit of American Pharoah,” Baffert said, referring to his 2015 Triple Crown winner. “He’s got that long, jumping stride, gets over the ground really well.” Pappacap finished second by 1 1/2 lengths over Giant Game. Commandperformance finished fourth while Oviatt Class and Pinehurst dead-heated for fifth. American Sanctuary was seventh followed by Double Thunder, Barossa, Jasper Great, and Tough to Tame. The 56-year-old Smith, the all-time winningest rider in Breeders’ Cup history, notched his 27th victory in the series. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2021: See DRF’s special section with recaps, results, charts, news, and more for each division “I know how quick he is if he jumps, he’s fast, fast,” Smith said. “The only thing I was worried about was he got a little hotter than he ever has, but it just made me get calmer. I don’t know I’ve ever been so calm in a big race. I think I’m going to keep trying that, it worked. I just sat really still and he caught a flyer leaving there and I basically left him alone.” It was the fifth victory in the Juvenile for Baffert, tying D. Wayne Lukas for the most wins in this race. Baffert’s previous Juvenile winners were Game Winner (2018), New Year’s Day (2013), Midshipman (2008), and Vindication (2002). None of those horses won the Kentucky Derby. As it stands now, if Corniche makes it to the Derby, Baffert cannot be his trainer. The “Derby’s a long ways off so right now my focus is just getting here, seeing how it plays out,” Baffert said. “There’s still a lot of things going on.” Pappacap, who was second to Corniche in the American Pharoah, finished second again. Trainer Mark Casse said the scratch of Jack Christopher “made us have to be a little more forward. But that’s okay. I just got to figure out how to get to the Kentucky Derby.” He’s not alone.