Cody’s Wish continues feel-good story, wins Churchill Downs

Louisville, Ky.

The feel-good story of 2022 has a sequel in 2023. And if team Cody’s Wish has its way, it might end with a championship.

“Our hope is that maybe we can have a horse-of-the-year type campaign here,” Godolphin USA director Michael Banahan said after Cody’s Wish (3-5) began his 5-year-old season with runaway triumph Saturday afternoon in the Grade 1, $750,000 Churchill Downs Stakes.

The Godolphin homebred who was sired by Curlin won for the fifth time in a row in typical, deep-closing fashion. He made up 6 3/4 lengths from last place, blowing past eight rivals and winning the seven-furlong race by 4 3/4 lengths.

“I mean, yeah, he just smoked them,” winning trainer Bill Mott said.

But that was not the memorable moment. There were two, really, both with Cody Dorman, 17, who watched the race from his wheelchair in the winner’s circle. On his way into the paddock, the horse acknowledged his namesake with an apparent look of recognition. After the race, when Cody’s Wish was allowed to duck his head toward Cody, he calmly accepted a loving pat.

“I get choked up pretty easily,” Mott said. “When he was walking over, and Cody was in the winner’s circle, Kenny said, ‘Just slow him down a little bit.’ He stopped, and he looked, my assistant Kenny (McCarthy) said it was kind of like almost unbelievable. It was almost like there really is a connection there. We don’t usually see that with horses. It’s usually, ‘Who’s going to feed me?’ I don’t know for what reason, it just seems like something is special.”

Before he was named, the horse was a yearling when he became friends with Dorman, who has a rare genetic condition. They met at Gainsborough Farm in Versailles, Ky., as part of the Make-A-Wish program. Fast-forward to November, when Cody’s Wish won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland. The whole story was honored with the 2022 Secretariat Vox Populi award.

Consider Saturday’s latest chapter a nominee for the 2023 award, even as Cody’s Wish might be working on something more traditional in the form of an Eclipse Award.

Here Mi Song (16-1) assumed the early lead and held it into the turn before he faded to finish fourth. After the race, the Grade 3-winning, 5-year-old gelding was vanned off. His trainer William Stinson Jr. told The Associated Press that Here Mi Song would be all right after X-rays on an unspecified area came back negative.

Hoist the Gold (10-1) maintained his position in second place throughout the race, but he was no match for Cody’s Wish, who circled the field under a hand ride from Júnior Alvarado.

“I don’t even know how to describe how much better he got today,” Alvarado said. “What I felt today is what you want to feel when you ride horses in big races. To feel the whole machine underneath you.”

Trainer Dallas Stewart said he was happy with Hoist the Gold’s runner-up finish because he knew the 4-year-old Mineshaft colt ridden by Luis Sáez was facing a potential champion in the making.

“A champion beat us. Congratulations to them,” Stewart said. “Luis said our horse never gave up. Solid the whole way, finished good. That horse went by him like a jet motorboat. You know, woof. We held on for second, so that’s a big day.”

Tejano Twist (11-1) stalked the early pace on his way to finishing third, another half-length behind Hoist the Gold.

On an overcast, 77-degree afternoon, the winning time was 1:21.17 on the fast, main track after early fractions of 22.70, 45.19 and 1:09.04. Cody’s Wish paid $3.44, $2.90 and $2.64; Hoist the Gold $6.34 and $4.48; and Tejano Twist $5.04.

If Godolphin wants to make a champion out of Cody’s Wish, it would take a big step in that direction with a victory in the Met Mile (G1) on the June 10 Belmont Stakes undercard.

“That’s what we’ve been looking at,” Mott said. “Look, we’re going to take it one race at a time. We all know if you run horses enough, sooner or later they can get beat. I’ve seen some great ones and actually had some great ones. Not very many of them win every time. Just to have this horse win as often as he has and put together this streak of wins that he’s got is pretty special for us.”

And for a young fan who no doubt would be welcome on the racing stage in New York next month.

“We all want the story to continue,” Banahan said, “but we all want it for the family as well. It’s great that we had this race here at Churchill today. The family live relatively close by (in Richmond, Ky.), so for them to experience this after the Breeders’ Cup as well is just phenomenal. It’s phenomenal.”