Mott finally earns Met Mile victory
?q=100)
ELMONT, N.Y. — Thirty-eight years after running his first horse in the race, trainer Bill Mott finally got his first victory in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap as Cody’s Wish wrote another chapter in the sport’s feel-good story with a dominant 3 1/4-length victory at Belmont Park.
Second-to-last down the backside under Junior Alvarado, Cody’s Wish picked off horses as he rallied widest of all around Belmont’s sweeping far turn. He hit the front straightening away in the stretch and won as he pleased, his sixth consecutive victory, fourth straight in a Grade 1.
The story of the bond between Cody’s Wish and Cody Dorman — the young man with the rare genetic disorder Wolf-Hirschborn Syndrome who developed a bond with the horse years ago — is made even better by this horse being one of the best in training.
“It’s as heartwarming for me as it is for the fans that watch it. I’ve had a lot of people that have told me what a story this is and it is a great story, and it’s not only a great story but it goes along with a good horse,” Mott said.
After losing his first three starts in the summer of 2021, Cody’s Wish has now won nine of his last 10 starts. His lone loss was a neck defeat in the Grade 3 Challenger at Tampa in March 22. His four Grade 1 wins include the Forego, Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, the Churchill Downs, and the Met Mile.
“He’s really developed nicely,” Mott said. “I thought there was the possibility of him being a good horse before we ever ran him. It took us a couple of races to get him going in the right direction, to get him educated enough to where he knew how to use his run, but he’s finally figured it out.”
And how.
In the Met, Cody’s Wish, the first one loaded in the gate, was a bit difficult in the stall, needing the handler with him to straighten him out.
Cody’s Wish broke next-to-last in the nine-horse field, but since he comes from off the pace anyway, that was not too big a concern.
The pace was solid enough with Slow Down Andy, Dr. Schivel, and Hoist the Gold dueling through a quarter in 22.76 seconds. Hoist the Gold and Slow Down Andy were still battling through a half-mile in 45.82.
Going into the turn, Alvarado had to check slightly on Cody’s Wish after Zandon, who was on his outside was first to make his move under Flavien Prat.
Before the three-eighths pole, Alvarado got Cody’s Wish outside into the clear and he was rapidly advancing toward the leaders, albeit five wide. By the time they straightened away in the stretch, Cody’s Wish was in front and was just vigorously hand-ridden to the wire.
“I never panicked, I just trust my horse, I knew what I had under me,” Alvarado said. “I just bide my time and when I had the chance, I tipped him out and that was it. I was trying to start little by little. He doesn’t have that yet, once he turns on, he’s on and all the way to the wire.”
Cody’s Wish, a 5-year-old son of Curlin owned and bred by Godolphin, covered the mile in 1:34.36. He earned a 112 Beyer Speed Figure and returned $3.30 as the favorite.
Zandon got second by a head over White Abarrio. It was another 3 1/4 lengths back to Charge It who was followed, by Dr. Schivel, Slow Down Andy, Repo Rocks, Hoist the Gold, and Doppelganger.
“We’ve been waiting for this day since last fall after the Breeders’ Cup, said Michael Banahan of Godolphin. “This is where we wanted to come. I don’t know if there’s a bigger race in America that we’d like to win than the Met Mile. It’s such an iconic race.”
Mott had run 13 horses in the Met Mile over the years — starting with Taylor’s Special in 1985 — but never got any closer than third.
Asked how he felt to finally win it, Mott said “[Effin] job well done.”
Zandon, who won the Grade 1 Blue Grass last year, has now finished second in five of 11 starts.
“I had Cody’s Wish to my inside and I was in the position I wanted to be, he made a good run just second best, that’s all,” Prat said. “He got beat by one of the best horses in the country.”
Tyler Gaffalione on White Abarrio said he had to go a little wider than he wanted in the stretch after running into some traffic entering the turn.
“From the half-mile to the three-eighths pole, I didn’t have anywhere to go, I had to sit on him for a little while,” Gaffalione said.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.