Mott using Vosburgh to get Cody's Wish back on track after Whitney misfire
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – A year ago, trainer Bill Mott used the Grade 2 Vosburgh as an introduction to stakes company for Elite Power. That horse would dominate a modest field, come back and win the Breeders’ Cup Sprint to earn an Eclipse Award, and reel off three more graded stakes wins this year.
Sunday, Mott hopes to use the Grade 2, $250,000 Vosburgh as a stepping-stone to more glory for his highly accomplished Cody’s Wish, who looks to rebound from having a six-race winning streak snapped in the Grade 1 Whitney last month at Saratoga.
Cody’s Wish will take on five seemingly overmatched rivals in the seven-furlong Vosburgh. The race was was rescheduled from Saturday’s program, which was postponed because of Friday’s torrential rain and moved to Sunday.
At this time last year, Cody’s Wish was coming off an upset of Jackie’s Warrior in the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga, which would lead to a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. His talent was starting to match his wonderful back story of the bond Cody’s Wish had made with a young man, Cody Dorman, who suffers from the rare genetic disorder Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome.
Cody’s Wish began this year with victories in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs and Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, at seven furlongs and one mile, respectively. Mott gave Cody’s Wish a try in the Whitney at 1 1/8 miles around two turns, but he finished third, 10 lengths behind White Abarrio. It seemed odd that Cody’s Wish couldn’t be successful beyond a mile, but Mott referenced a statement made by Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells when asked about that anomaly.
“You are what your record says you are,” Mott quoted Parcells, who said that to describe a team’s mediocre performance. “Three times he’s been beyond a mile and three times he’s been beat.”
In his last nine starts at seven furlongs or a mile, Cody’s Wish is 9 for 9. Five of those wins have come at Churchill, which might have made Saturday’s Grade 3, $400,000 Ack Ack going a mile a logical spot. Mott said he preferred the simplicity of shipping the horse to Aqueduct and back to Saratoga before having to head to Southern California for the Breeders’ Cup.
Cody’s Wish has worked four times at Saratoga since the Whitney, including a good-looking half-mile move in 48.69 seconds last Saturday over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track.
“He’s doing great,” Mott said. “Looks like a bull.”
Cody’s Wish, who breaks from post 6 under Junior Alvarado, carries 126 pounds, spotting six to eight pounds to his five rivals, only one of whom has won a graded race.
That horse is the Mott-trained High Oak, who as a 2-year-old in 2021 won the Grade 2 Saratoga Special. He is coming off a third-place finish behind Gunite in the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga.
“Maybe he picks up some pieces,” Mott said. “Who knows? It’s a horse race.”
Whereas Cody’s Wish has six triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures, the other five horses in the field have combined for one.
The lightly raced Accretive earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure when he was beaten a neck by Gunite in the Grade 2 Amsterdam at Saratoga in 2022. After running fifth in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens last August, Accretive went to the sidelines. He has returned with two allowance wins for trainer Chad Brown.
“It’s a short field, he’s training better than ever, he’s coming off a nice win at a mile where he looked good doing it,” Brown said. “A slight cutback may be what he wants.”
Sheriff Bianco has finished in the top three in 17 of his last 18 starts, the one blemish being a fourth in the Grade 2 John Nerud Stakes in July. Great Navigator is a New Jersey-bred stakes winner. Cowan came off a year layoff to win to an allowance at Charles Town.
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