Cody's Wish to Make '23 Debut in Churchill Downs Stakes

After closing last season with four straight stakes wins capped by a narrow victory in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Keeneland, fan favorite Cody's Wish  is scheduled to make his 5-year-old debut May 6 in the $750,000 Churchill Downs Stakes (G1).

The seven-furlong test for older horses will be contested as race 10 on the Kentucky Derby (G1) undercard Saturday at Churchill Downs. 

For Cody's Wish, the planned start will match—nearly to the day—the beginning of last year's win streak for the Godolphin homebred. That stretch started with the son of Curlin   winning the 2022 Westchester Stakes (G3) May 7. Victories followed at Churchill in the Hanshin Stakes going the one-turn mile, at Saratoga Race Course in the Forego Stakes (G1) at seven furlongs—his first grade 1 score, and then going the two-turn mile in the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland.

There will be no prep race ahead of this season's debut as Cody's Wish will try for a third straight grade 1 victory Saturday, a task for which his Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott believes he's well-prepared.

"We've had a good run of training with him," Mott said after Cody's Wish completed four breezes at Payson Park and Churchill Downs in April. "We mapped out a program and we're just days away. He put in his final work Saturday (four furlongs in :49 2/5 April 29 at Churchill) and we thought it was good and he had several good works in Florida before we left. He had an easy work here and he looks ready to go."

Mott said the connections will see how Saturday's race goes but the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) on the Belmont Stakes (G1) card June 10 at Belmont Park is being considered.

Cody's Wish is listed as the 4-5 morning-line favorite in Saturday's expected field of 11. Regular rider Junior Alvarado has the mount.

White Abarrio , who at this time of year in 2022 finished 16th in the Kentucky Derby, has largely settled into shorter races of late as he finished third in the Dec. 3 Cigar Mile Handicap (G1) going the one-turn mile at Aqueduct Racetrack and will enter Saturday's sprint off a dominant victory at the Churchill Downs Stakes distance in a March 4 allowance optional claiming race at Gulfstream Park.

C2 Racing Stable and La Milagrosa Stable's White Abarrio had been cross-entered in the May 5 Westchester Stakes at Belmont but trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. opted for the Churchill Downs Stakes.

"The Westchester wasn't an easy race either, and this race is a grade 1," Joseph said of the race's co-third choice on the morning line at 6-1. "We kind of liked how it looked from a pace standpoint in talking to the owner. We're pretty excited to roll the dice here in a grade 1."

White Abarrio will start from the rail under Paco Lopez.

Other runners with single-digit morning-line odds include grade 3 winner Tejano Twist  (6-1) and Endorsed  (5-1), who enters off back-to-back graded stakes wins at Gulfstream Park, most recently taking the Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes (G2) March 4.

Corrie McCroskey and Byron King contributed to this story.