ELMONT, N.Y. - Corniche, last year’s 2-year-old champion male, is being pointed to the Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam Stakes, a 6 1/2-furlong race at Saratoga on July 31 for his 3-year-old debut, trainer Todd Pletcher said Friday. Corniche hasn’t raced since last November at Del Mar when he completed a perfect 3-for-3 season by winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. He was trained as a juvenile by Bob Baffert. Following the Breeders’ Cup, Corniche was sent to WinStar Farm for a break and didn’t ship to Pletcher until May 17. Owners Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner, who race under the banner Speedway Stable announced on May 2 that they were moving the horse to Pletcher due to Baffert having to serve a 90-day suspension until July 2 owing to the penalty issued him by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for Medina Spirit’s medication violation following the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Though Corniche had two workouts at WinStar in April before shipping to New York, Pletcher said he gave the horse some extra time to settle in and planned his work schedule after deciding on the Amsterdam as his return race. On Friday, Corniche breezed three furlongs in 38.97 seconds over the Belmont Park training track. :: Serious horseplayers use serious products. Get DRF's premium past performances, now free for the first time “The Amsterdam was our first and only possible target,” Pletcher said. “I didn’t want to get way ahead of myself, that race isn’t until July 31 so I worked my way back from there when deciding when his first breeze would be.” Of Friday morning’s breeze, Pletcher said “Very straightforward, very easy, professional. We went comfortably this morning, I don’t think he’ll have any trouble jumping into some company and gradually build up and do a little more as we go along.” Less than two hours later, Life Is Good, a former Baffert-trainee who joined Pletcher’s stable last spring, worked four furlongs in 49.53 seconds, with a strong gallop out of six furlongs in 1:13.96, according to DRF clocker Mike Welsch. Life Is Good, the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and Pegasus World Cup winner, is targeting the Grade 2, $250,000 John Nerud here on July 2 for his next start. He has not raced since finishing fourth in the Dubai World Cup at Meydan on March 27. “He’s a special horse, every time you breeze him, he leaves your jaw dropping,” Pletcher said. “I don’t know what he’d do if you allow him to set sail.” Also working Friday for Pletcher were Forte, an impressive debut winning 2-year-old, who went a half-mile in 49.55 alongside With Bells On. Shahama, the UAE Oaks winner, went a half-mile in 49.65 seconds in company with Vindictive. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures Forte is preparing for a start in the Grade 3, $175,000 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga on July 16. Shahama, coming off a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks, is pointing to the Grade 2, $250,000 Mother Goose going 1 1/16 miles here on June 25. The Mother Goose comes up just two weeks after NYRA runs the Grade 1, $400,000 Acorn Stakes going a mile on Saturday. “A little bit of added distance and a little extra time wouldn’t hurt and I think it should be a little easier race as well,” Pletcher said. Pletcher said Vindictive, beaten a head as the favorite in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special would be under consideration for the Grade, $400,000 Suburban on July 9.