Cody's Wish, Zandon heading to Breeders' Cup after prep wins
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Zandon and Cody’s Wish, winners of Grade 2 stakes Sunday at Aqueduct, are both expected to head to the Breeders’ Cup to make one more start before they are retired, their connections said after their respective races.
Zandon, who won Sunday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Woodward Stakes by 4 1/4 lengths as the even-money favorite, will run in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita. Cody’s Wish, who won Sunday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Vosburgh Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths, will seek a repeat in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on the same Nov. 4 card.
Zandon ended an eight-race losing streak in the Woodward, overcoming some traffic trouble on the first turn and a bit of a wide trip in the stretch to win convincingly over Film Star. While it was his only his third victory in 13 career starts – and first since the Grade 1 Blue Grass in 2022 – it was another in a string of consistent performances that make him a live longshot in the Classic. Prior to the Woodward, Zandon had finished second in the Whitney and Metropolitan Handicap – both Grade 1 stakes – as well as the Grade 3 Westchester.
“He had a little bit of trouble [Sunday], he had to persevere,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He got a strong prep [Sunday] that if he comes out of it sound, should serve him well to at least give us some hope if not [for] the top prize, maybe he can grab a piece of this. This is a huge purse, a very prestigious race. It’s hard to get a horse that qualifies for this race and participate. If he’s sound enough, I’m just happy to have one of them.”
Zandon has twice run at 1 1/4 miles, the distance of the Classic. In 2022, he finished third in both the Kentucky Derby and Travers Stakes.
Zandon earned a 104 Beyer Speed Figure for the Woodward victory, the seventh triple-digit Beyer he’s earned in his last eight starts.
Zandon, a son of Upstart owned by Jeff Drown, is already booked to be a stallion in 2024 at Spendthrift Farm.
Cody’s Wish, who beat Zandon in the Met Mile and finished behind him in the Whitney, outfinished a stubborn Accretive to win Sunday’s Vosburgh, his eighth win in his last nine starts and 10th from 15 in his career.
In the Vosburgh, Cody’s Wish was sent off as the 1-9 favorite and faced a field he was supposed to beat. He got off a step slow and was last early, gradually advanced into second, and outfinished Accretive, the pacesetter who put up a fight until inside the sixteenth pole.
While it wasn’t perhaps as dominant as some of his previous wins, Cody’s Wish did enough to please his Hall of Fame trainer, Bill Mott.
“I thought he did it well enough,” Mott said. “I thought at the wire he was getting away from everybody.”
Cody’s Wish has won his last 10 races that were run at seven furlongs or one mile. He earned a 100 Beyer for the Vosburgh.
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