Cody’s Wish (outside) is back to defend in the Dirt Mile. (Courtney Snow/Past the Wire)
Breeders’ Cup Notes
The closing act on the racetrack is here for Godolphin’s CODY’S WISH. The 5-year-old horse, who has tugged on people’s heart strings from coast-to-coast for his unique relationship with a 17-year-old boy, will race for the final time in Saturday’s $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1).
His biggest fan, Cody Dorman, and his family from Richmond, Kentucky, will be at Santa Anita to root him on.
“He has been a very good horse, and this is a great story,” Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said.
Cody’s Wish, the defending Dirt Mile champion, will be making his 16th career start. He has never missed the board, winning 10 times, finishing second once and third four times. He is undefeated in seven starts at a mile.
Cody, along with dad Kelly, mom Leslie and 10-year-old sister Kylie, are making their first trip to California. On Wednesday, they will be honored at the annual National Turf Writers and Broadcasters’ Awards Dinner.
Young Cody has developed a special bond with the horse, who is named for his pal. Cody Dorman was born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. He is confined to a wheelchair and communicates via tablet.
The horse met Cody Dorman when he was a weanling in a 2018 Make-a-Wish Foundation visit to Godolphin’s Gainsborough Farm in Versailles, Kentucky.
The connection was instantaneous, love at first sight.
“From the very start, I never questioned it or tried to figure it out,” Kelly Dorman said. “I appreciated it and admired it for what it is. I know what it does to me. It will make the hair stick up on our neck and send chills down your spine.”
The Dormans visited Cody’s Wish at Saratoga in August before he ran third in the 1 1/8 -mile Whitney Stakes (G1) (which snapped a six-race winning streak). Mott brought the horse out of his stall and he immediately went to Cody, who was patiently waiting for him.
The horse walked up to Cody’s wheelchair, acknowledged his friend with a nuzzle.
“For some reason, there seems to be something there,” Mott said. “Horses tend to be sometimes frightened from something different or they can be very inquisitive. The horse is very inquisitive about him.”
Cody’s Wish won the Vosburgh (G2) at Aqueduct in his last start on Oct. 1.
After the Dirt Mile, Cody’s Wish will start his new career as a stallion at Darley’s Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. A stud fee will be announced after the Breeders’ Cup.
“Cody (Dorman) will be able to see him whenever he wants,” Kelly Dorman said. “It’s nice. Cody loves being around the horse and Cody’s Wish loves being around him, too. It’s like they have some kind of language … they speak to each other. You can’t hear it, but you certainly can feel it.”
Cody’s Wish will be ridden by Junior Alvarado in the Dirt Mile. Of all of the 14 races over the two-day Breeders’ Cup, Cody’s Wish will certainly be the overwhelming sentimental favorite.
“He is going to be the fan favorite and one of the favorites in the race,” Mott said. “It’s a horse race and anything can happen. Wouldn’t it be great if he went out on top? It would be really special for a lot of reasons. Even if the story wasn’t part of it, it would be great, but the story would make it really special.”
