A jubilant Junior Alvarado throws the Breeders’ Cup flowers in the air in celebration of Cody’s Wish’s victory in the 2022 Dirt Mile at Keeneland. (Courtney Snow/Past The Wie)
By Ashley Tamulonis
“Many horses have done special things over the years to win Horse of the Year. I’ve never seen a horse keep a person alive for five years,” my good buddy Stephen Andrusieczko said this morning when the news of Cody Dorman’s tragic passing broke.
And that neatly sums up the saga of Cody Dorman and the weanling that would come to be known as Cody’s Wish.
Cody was born with a rare genetic disorder, Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, which can cause delayed growth, intellectual disabilities, and seizures. Dorman, who could not walk or speak and had frequent seizures, visited Gainsborough Farm in Kentucky in 2018 through the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, which most foals would likely find alarming, Cody immediately formed a bond with Dance Card ’18 (by Curlin).
The Dorman family visited the farm again in 2020, and it was as if no time had passed between visits. “As soon as he (Cody’s Wish) came out of the barn, it was like nobody was there but him and Cody,” said Cody’s father, Kelly Dorman, in an NBC video.
That unnamed weanling that Cody met in 2018 would go on to be named Cody’s Wish by owner Godolphin Racing in honor of Cody Dorman. And a bond forged early in the foal’s life would produce one of the most tear-inducing stories in modern horse racing.
It’s odd to say that a weanling and a boy who spent so little time together had a bond, but anyone who saw them together could not deny that one was there. Cody’s Wish was first and foremost a racehorse, but around Cody Dorman, he was as docile as an old stable pony. If Cody were around, Cody’s Wish would find him, and there would be, without a doubt, a moment between boy and horse; it didn’t matter if Cody’s Wish were at the track preparing for a big race. The two just had that connection.
Due to his condition, Cody Dorman was not supposed to live past age 2, but over the years, he defied the odds over and over again. His father Kelly estimated that Cody underwent more than 40 operations over his lifetime. But from the time Cody met Cody’s Wish, he was a different child, according to his mother, Leslie.
Once Cody’s Wish reached racing age, it took him a few tries to reach the winner’s circle, three to be precise. The colt rattled off three straight third-place finishes before he finally had his picture taken on October 2, 2021, in his fourth career start. He would only suffer two more defeats from there.
After finishing his 3-year-old year 6: 3-0-3, Cody’s Wish debuted a close second in the Grade 3 Challenger Stakes, losing by just a neck to Scalding, who had gotten the jump on him. That was his only defeat in 2022; Cody’s Wish then proceeded to rattle off victories in the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes, the listed Hanshin Stakes, and the Grade 1 Forego Stakes before prevailing by a neck over well-regarded 3-year-old Cyberknife in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile to end his year in storybook-like fashion. Cody Dorman and family were in attendance whenever possible, including at Keeneland for the colt’s triumph on an international stage.
This year just added another chapter to the storybook of Cody Dorman and Cody’s Wish. Given six months off, Cody’s Wish returned a winner in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes and then proceeded to annex the prestigious Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, also known as “The Stallion Maker.” The now 5-year-old suffered his only loss in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes while stretching out to 1 1/8-mile; that race was won by White Abarrio who would go on to win the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Cutting back to his preferred one turn saw Cody’s Wish winning the Grade 2 Vosburgh Stakes at Saratoga in his final prep for the World Championships.
Trainer Bill Mott prepared Cody’s Wish beautifully for a defense of his Dirt Mile title. Though the Classic had been in consideration earlier in the year, Cody’s Wish’s failure to win the Whitney had Mott wisely choosing to pursue a repeat title rather than push for the coveted Classic win.
With the sun gracing a beautiful blue sky in Southern California, the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile went off as the first of the World Championship races on Saturday, November 4. Once again, Cody Dorman and family were in attendance. Facing just six rivals, Cody’s Wish was crowded at the start and took up his usual spot at the back of the pack. He and regular jockey Junior Alvardo stayed there down the backstretch before launching their move in the far turn. The duo rode the rail for as long as they could, finally splitting Skippylongstocking and leader National Treasure.
From about the top of the stretch to the wire, it was a dog fight between Cody’s Wish and National Treasure. Neither was willing to give an inch, but Cody’s Wish was determined to win one more for Cody. It was not without drama, however, as Cody’s Wish had to endure an inquiry before being declared the official winner. He and National Treasure traded bumps down the lane, and with the margin of victory being just a nose, it was up to the stewards to decide if the contact had altered the order of finish. They ultimately decided that the result should stand.
In a year that had seen arguably more downs than ups, fans of Cody Dorman and Cody’s Wish got their storybook ending: a repeat in the Dirt Mile.
Unfortunately, as with every story, there was, at the very least, an epilogue.
Cody Dorman suffered an unspecified medical event on the flight back to Lexington, Kentucky, and tragically passed away.
For five years, the prospect of Cody’s Wish’s racing career kept a boy alive, and now, with the final chapter of that horse’s racing career in the books, the boy for whom the horse was named has sadly left us. It was as if he had hung on just long enough to see Cody’s Wish’s racing career through to the end. With his passing, there will be no birthday visit next month. No watching Cody’s Wish’s progeny grow up and hit the track. That part of this fairytale is over.
But there are still chapters to be written. For one, Cody’s Wish didn’t receive a single Eclipse Award last year. This year, he is without a doubt the best candidate for Champion Dirt Male and a finalist for Horse of the Year. He is also likely to be the top choice for the Vox Populi Award.
On Sunday I said that Idiomatic was my top choice for Horse of the Year based on her year’s résumé. Today, my heart can choose none other than Cody’s Wish. It is my sincere hope that he sweeps Horse of the Year, Champion Dirt Male, and receives the Vox Populi Award. To compound that, if he is voted Horse of the Year and is given the Vox Populi Award, I pray that Godolphin allows the Dorman family to have both of those rewards. It would only be fitting.
