Cody's Wish Edges Cyberknife in BC Dirt Mile Thriller

Racing history is filled with racehorses named after individuals who fell short of noteworthy achievements, a reality in a sport in which fewer than half of Thoroughbreds ever win a race.

But there are exceptions when it almost seems that fate steps in to propel such horses to glory, and Godolphin's homebred Cody's Wish  now is the poster boy for such accomplishments.

In the feel-good story of the Breeders' Cup, the 4-year-old Curlin   colt—named after Cody Dorman, a teenager who has a rare genetic disorder known as Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome—won before his namesake by grittily outfinishing Cyberknife   by a head in the $910,000 Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).

Dorman, who sat trackside in his wheelchair alongside his family, was embraced after the race by his father, Kelly, who spoke in his son's ear. Cody's mother Leslie and sister Kylie quickly joined the celebration of the moment, with barely a dry eye to be found.

"This is top of the world, and anything past that," Kelly said.

Cody first met the bay colt in 2018 when he was just a foal at Godolphin's Gainsborough Farm, via Keeneland's Make-a-Wish program, and a bond was established between the Godolphin team and the Dorman family.

They weren't the only ones touched by the exclamation mark to the 4-year-old chapter of the colt's story. A sizable portion of the Keeneland crowd applauded upon the conclusion of the post-race trophy presentation.

"It's as great a story as you could get," Godolphin USA director of bloodstock Michael Banahan said. "The family are absolutely wonderful. They've enjoyed this ride so much. For it to come together the way it has—to win the Forego (G1) was unbelievable. To come here (and win) on Breeders' Cup when (Cody) is here, as well—unbelievable."

Kelly Dorman speaks to his son Cody after Cody’s Wish wins the ⁦@BreedersCup⁩ Dirt Mile. Cody’s Wish is named after the young man. pic.twitter.com/W8dda0J3SD

— Byron King (@BH_BKing) November 5, 2022

Even those moved by racing excitement more than a human-interest story likely enjoyed the Dirt Mile, with the winner and runner-up battling the length of the stretch and Cody's Wish somehow managing to prevail with a last-to-first rally. The Bill Mott trainee improved to 6-for-6 at the mile distance, timed in 1:35.33 on a fast track. He returned $6.32 to win to his backers, who made him the favorite in the field of nine.

Winning jockey Junior Alvarado said his mount broke slowly and left him farther off the pace than he anticipated, but he was pleased by the progress his long-striking colt made down the backstretch, as Pipeline  set the pace with fractions of :22.20 and :45.71. As the field hit the six-furlong marker, with a stalking Cyberknife poking his head in front with a 1:10.34 split, Cody's Wish was on the move in third.

"But I knew he was going to get it done at that point," Alvarado said. "I could feel the aggression that he had, the will he has just to win the race."

The colt's win on Saturday was his first around two turns after two earlier losses in longer races.

The horse gave Godolphin their second Breeders' Cup victory of 2022, a tally that grew to four by day's end on Saturday. Mischief Magic  provided Godolphin its first Breeders' Cup win this year in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T) Nov. 4, and Modern Games  and Rebel's Romance  added victories later on Saturday with respective victories in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T) and Longines Breeder's Cup Turf (G1T). British trainer Charlie Appleby trains the three turf winners.

Godolphin is headed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai.

The drama didn't end for bettors as the horses passed the finish, with a claim of foul and inquiry lodged against the runner-up for interference, but stewards made no change to the order of finish after a short review.

In the more significant of two portions of the race examined by stewards, Cyberknife drifted inward in early stretch into the path of fourth-place Gunite , causing jockey Tyler Gaffalione to steady him while the horse was tiring. Gunite ended up 2 1/4 lengths behind third-place Slow Down Andy , and stewards would have needed to have viewed the incident as having potentially cost Gunite a placing to demote Cyberknife.

"Tough beat," Cyberknife's jockey, Florent Geroux, said. "He was trying hard. I was really proud of him."

Cody's Wish, a winner of seven of 11 starts and earnings of more than $1.3 million, seems tailor-made for success as a 5-year-old, given his development at ages 3 and 4 after a slow start to his racing career. But as a dual grade 1 winner with a top pedigree, he is also valuable as a stallion, whether his stud career comes in 2023 or later down the road.

Out of the grade 1-winning Tapit   mare Dance Card , Cody's Wish is a half brother to the grade 2-placed Endorsed  and to the stakes-placed Bocephus , both by Medaglia d'Oro  . Dance Card also has a yearling Into Mischief   colt and a Street Sense   filly born in 2022.

"I think we'll just wait and see how he comes out of the race and assess what we want to do with him," Banahan said.

"He's risen into the stakes company, and to the grade 1 level, and he'd be a horse that, for me as a trainer, would be an interesting horse to take to the Met Mile next year," said Mott, who garnered a second victory Saturday when Elite Power  took the Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).

The Met Mile, formally known as the Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1), is a one-turn mile contest that is widely viewed as a stallion-making race. It was won this year by the brilliant Flightline .