Cody's Wish Completes Fairytale Ending in BC Dirt Mile
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Photo: Mathea Kelley
Cody's Wish (outside) wins Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita Park
There was no other place for the 2023 Breeders' Cup to be held than Santa Anita Park.
The Great Race Place in the shadow of Hollywood, where a story worthy of a major movie studio unfolded Nov. 4 at the 40th edition of the World Championships.
Throughout the course of a 16-race career, Godolphin's homebred Cody's Wish brought brilliance, energy, and poignancy to horse racing.
He won 11 times but more importantly his bond with teenager Cody Dorman, who suffers from debilitating Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, and the joy he brought the courageous young man injected a heartwarming human element to the sport.
"I think that this horse probably saved Cody's life in a lot of ways," said Kelly Dorman, Cody's father. "I know him and the horse has made a lot of lives better."
There was also tons of drama, especially on Saturday. In the 5-year-old son of Curlin 's final race before becoming a stallion, he topped the excitement and suspense of his 2022 victory by a head over Cyberknife in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1). This time, he outdueled the highly game Preakness Stakes (G1) winner National Treasure during a bumpy stretch battle to win by a scant nose and then weathered a steward's inquiry before his back-to-back victory in the $1 million Dirt Mile was confirmed and an approving crowd roared its approval.
"We are in California. It's a Hollywood ending to a Hollywood story. You could not have scripted it to end it any better," said Michael Banahan, bloodstock manager for Godolphin USA. "Back-to-back Breeders' Cup wins, with the Dorman family here as well. It's been incredible all the way throughout. A lot of people face difficult situations and it would be great if this gives them hope."
For trainer Bill Mott, a Hall of Famer since 1998, his 14th Breeders' Cup victory and the entire experience with Cody's Wish has been a highlight of a gold standard career.
"If it's not the best (story), it's certainly a dead-heat," Mott said. "It's probably one of the most memorable rides that we've all been on, and I think it's meant so much to so many people. Sometimes it's a small group of people that gets to enjoy the win, but I think this one's been for a lot of people. We're very thankful for the Make-A-Wish Foundation that brought everything together and Godolphin has been terrific.
"This is the icing on the cake. You couldn't imagine a better ending. He's done everything we've asked him to do."
Bill Mott and Cody Dornan savor the moment after Cody's Wish won the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile
The victory capped a year that saw Cody's Wish capture four of five starts, with three of them grade 1 triumphs, the Dirt Mile, Metropolitan Handicap, and Churchill Downs Stakes. His only blemish was a third in the Whitney Stakes (G1) when he attempted a two-turn mile-and-and-an-eighth distance, and, at the very least, he seems a logical finalist for Horse of the Year honors.
"I think he should be on the ballot," Mott said.
Running around a two-turn distance Saturday, Cody's Wish and Junior Alvarado were away slowly and were sixth and about 5 1/2 lengths behind in the field of seven as National Treasure led by a length through a half-mile in :46.02. Winless in three starts since his front-running victory in the Preakness for trainer Bob Baffert, the 3-year-old son of Quality Road displayed speed and gusto on the front end and extended to a 2 1/2-length lead after six furlongs in 1:09.78.
That's when Alvarado made a key decision. Instead of taking Cody's Wish wide with his rally, he split horses to save some ground.
"I didn't think I had the luxury to go around horses," he said.
The move paid off as he angled out with the 4-5 favorite ($3.60) after leaving the quarter pole and set sail for the leader. National Treasure and Flavien Prat were ahead by a half-length at the eighth pole and matters got interesting after that.
As the two horses came together, there was bumping in the frantic final sixteenth. In the Preakness, National Treasure heroically fended off Blazing Sevens in a furious stretch duel, but Cody's Wish was a different foe as he forged to a narrow lead and had his nose in front at the wire.
"I knew he wasn't going to let that other horse go by after we were in front," said Alvarado, after the victory in 1:35.97 that lifted the winner's earnings to $3,106,030.
Junior Alvarado after winning the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) aboard Cody's Wish
The drama did not end there as an inquiry was announced involving the stretch battle.
A subdued Prat, after talking to the stewards, did not sound like someone who expected a change in the order of finish.
"He ran a good race," Prat said about National Treasure. "It felt like he was coming back. There was definitely contact."
The three stewards eventually reached a unanimous decision that the contact did not impact the order finish and let the result stand, making Cody's Wish just the second back-to-back winner of the Dirt Mile, joining Goldencents (2013-14).
National Treasure, owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stable, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan was 3 3/4 lengths ahead of Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking , an Exaggerator 4-year-old trained by Saffie Joseph Jr.
Cody's Wish, a half brother to grade 2 winner Endorsed , is the fourth of seven foals by the Tapit mare Dance Card and her second graded stakes winner. She also has a yearling Street Sense filly and a 2023 Gun Runner filly.
In time, there will indeed be sons and daughters of Cody's Wish as well, with perhaps more thrills and cherished moments for Godolphin, Mott, Alvarado, and the Dormans.
"The wish that Cody had came true here and that's what it's all about—the way horses can connect with humans," Banahan said. "It's a Hollywood story, no question."