Cody's Wish Pursues First Two-Turn Win in BC Dirt Mile

For a horse with a 5-for-5 record at a mile, Godolphin's Cody's Wish  surprisingly has a question to answer in the Nov. 5 Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Keeneland. Can he be successful under the two-turn conditions of the race?

All five of his mile starts have come around one turn, either at Churchill Downs or Belmont Park, tracks that due to the length of their backstretches and backstretch chutes can accommodate such races. Keeneland has a backstretch chute, but it is not long enough to run a mile, with its maximum sprint distance being seven furlongs and 184 feet over what it calls the Beard Course.

"It's a different type of race for him. Maybe we could add some dirt on the end of that chute at Keeneland and stretch it out to a one-turn mile," Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott quipped in a conference call with reporters Oct. 26.

Instead, Cody's Wish will have to deal with a short run to the first turn, which is likely to result in a scramble for positioning for many of the competitors, and a short stretch after leaving the second turn. Mile races end at Keeneland, a track 1 1/16 miles in circumference, at what is typically the sixteenth pole.

"The two turns add a little bit of a challenge to it. Frankly, I would probably prefer the (one-turn) mile," Mott said. "He's a big horse, and I think the one mile and the long straightaway down the backside probably gives him a chance to probably get into his stride a little better, a little more time, rather than having to negotiate that first turn."

Cody's Wish is bred to handle a route, being by Curlin   out of the grade 1 stakes-winning Tapit   mare Dance Card , but he could only muster minor awards in two prior starts around turn turns, both over longer trips. He was third in a 1 1/8-mile maiden race at Saratoga Race Course in July 2021, and second, beaten a neck by Scalding , in the 1 1/16-mile $100,000 Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs March 12.

"As far as the two-turn race that he had at Tampa, he really had every opportunity. He had a good enough trip, but it just looked like the other horse got the best of him the last 70 yards," Mott said. "Whether that was the distance, and we know that was a two-turn race as well, but I'm happy to be shortening up to a mile."

Since the Challenger, he has rattled off three straight one-turn victories—taking the Westchester Stakes (G3) at Belmont, the Hanshin Stakes Presented by JRA at Churchill Downs, and the Forego Stakes (G1) at Saratoga. He ran down champion sprinter Jackie's Warrior   in winning the latter race over seven furlongs.

The colt's high level of performance—plus the heartwarming story of the colt being named after Cody Dorman, a teenager who has a rare genetic disorder known as Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome—have made Cody's Wish a barn and fan favorite.

"Cody has sent messages before his races, and predicts how he is going to run," Mott said. "He's been pretty spot on so far. I don't know what his prediction is for the Breeders' Cup, but I hope he places him right up there."