2022 Eclipse Awards: Cody's Wish

Cody’s Wish was running for so much more than accolades in November when he fought for a head victory in the $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

He seemed to know there was a greater purpose at hand, and it became evident when he was greeted in the winner’s circle by Cody Dorman. Cody’s Wish is named for the special-needs teenager born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. The pair have been pals since meeting several years earlier through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Bred and owned by Godolphin and trained by Bill Mott, Cody’s Wish won 4 of 5 starts last year, including a run of four straight victories that included the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga ahead of his Breeders’ Cup. For the memorable season, Cody’s Wish is an Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding male sprinter of 2022.

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The Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, which was run at Keeneland, was the first two-turn race won by Cody’s Wish. He had won five mile races prior to the Breeders’ Cup, but all of those came at one turn. In the Dirt Mile, Cody’s Wish had one horse beat early before mounting his bid. In the stretch, he became engaged in a battle with Cyberknife.

“I knew he was going to get it done at that point,” Junior Alvarado, the regular rider of Cody’s Wish, told Daily Racing Form. “I could feel the aggression that he had, the will he had just to win the race.”

Cody’s Wish was favored in the Dirt Mile on the strength of his performance in the Forego, which he won by 1 1/4 lengths over Jackie’s Warrior. Cody’s Wish covered seven furlongs in a blazing 1:20.95 to earn a Beyer Speed Figure of 112.

“He ran racehorse time and was getting away from everybody crossing the wire,” Mott told Daily Racing Form.

“The win was good for the owners, it was great for the team here at the stable, and goes a little further than that,” Mott added. “If it gives a little bit of enjoyment for [Cody Dorman], that makes it really worthwhile.”

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Cody’s Wish is a son of Curlin and the Grade 1-winning mare Dance Card, who earned more than $500,000. Cody’s Wish was bred in Kentucky. He has compiled a career record of 7 wins from 11 starts for earnings of $1.3 million.

Plans are for Cody’s Wish to return to the races in 2023.

“He came out of the Breeders’ Cup very well,” said Michael Banahan, Godolphin’s director of bloodstock for the United States. “He’s sound, healthy, and we’re extremely excited about seeing him race next year.”

Odds are, so is Cody Dorman.

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