SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Corniche, last year’s champion 2-year-old colt, may have had an excuse for his last-place finish in his 3-year-old debut in Sunday’s Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes at Saratoga. Trainer Todd Pletcher said Monday morning that Corniche shed the frog on his right front foot. The frog, triangular in shape, is the bottom part of the foot and acts like a shock absorber. “Very tender as those things can be, I’m sure that didn’t feel very good as he was running,” Pletcher said Monday morning. “In the grand scheme of things, that’s something that can be okay but sometimes they’re very stubborn to heal.” Pletcher said the frog needs some time to heal on its own before you could a protective plate over it and resume training. In the Amsterdam, Corniche overcame a slow start to sit third behind dueling leaders that included the winner Gunite. Around the middle of the turn Corniche began to back up under Luis Saez. :: Get Saratoga Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day.  Corniche was making his first start for Pletcher and first since he won last November’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Corniche was trained by Bob Baffert then, and that win capped a 3-for-3 campaign that ended with an Eclipse Award. Meanwhile, Amsterdam winner Gunite was tired, but otherwise in good order Monday morning, according to trainer Steve Asmussen. Gunite, last year’s Grade 1 Hopeful winner, fended off Accretive to win the Amsterdam by a neck. He earned a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure. Both Gunite and Accretive are being pointed to the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens on Aug. 27. Asmussen, who won three graded stakes over the weekend here, on Monday sent out his undefeated 2-year-old Gulfport for a five-furlong work in 1:01.24 over the Oklahoma training track. Gulfport worked in company Roman Giant, running away from that one late on the gallop-out. A 12 1/4-length winner of the Bashford Manor Stakes on July 4, Gulfport is pointing to the Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special here on Aug. 13.