Cody's Wish (born 3 May 2018) is an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse. He was bred in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

by owner

Godolphin Racing Godolphin (Arabic: جودلفين) is the Maktoum family's private Thoroughbred horseracing stable and was named in honour of the Godolphin Arabian, who came from the desert to become one of the three founding stallions of the modern Thoroug ...

. In 2022 he was a winner in four of his five starts–all stakes races–including two Grade I victories in the

Forego Stakes The Forego Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses four years old and older over the distance of seven furlongs on the dirt, scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The event curr ...

at Saratoga and the

Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile The Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile is a Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up. As its name implies, it is part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year-end championship for North American t ...

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

. Cody's Wish is named for Cody Dorman, a native of

Richmond, Kentucky Richmond is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Madison County, Kentucky, United States. It is named after Richmond, Virginia, and is home to Eastern Kentucky University. In 2019, the population was 36,157. Richmond is the fourth-la ...

who was born with

Wolf–Hirschhorn syndrome Wolf–Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS) is a chromosomal deletion syndrome resulting from a partial deletion on the short arm of chromosome 4 (del(4p16.3)). Features include a distinct craniofacial phenotype and intellectual disability. Signs and sympto ...

. As a result of the syndrome, Dorman uses a wheelchair and communicates with a tablet. In 2018, while on a visit to Godolphin's Gainsborough Farm in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

Background

Cody's Wish's sire is

, the back-to-back recipient of

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

honors in 2007 and 2008. The damsire of Cody's Wish is

Tapit Tapit (foaled February 27, 2001, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won three of his six races, including the Wood Memorial Stakes, then a Graded stakes race, Grade I event. He was an immediate success after retiring to stud, ...

, consistenly among the leading sires in North America, having sired such champions as

Untapable Untapable (foaled 13 February 2011) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed promise as a two-year-old in 2013 when she won two of her four races including the Pocahontas Stakes and was placed in the Starlet Stakes. In 2014 she emerge ...

Frosted Frosted (stylised as FroSTed) was an American pop punk band, founded by ex-Go-Go's guitarist and singer Jane Wiedlin in 1995. The band was so-named because ''"it sounds sweet"''.''The Daily Aztec''link) The letters S and T were capitalised in tr ...

Essential Quality Essential Quality (foaled April 9, 2018) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2021 Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes, and the 2020 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He was named the 2020 Champion Two-Year-Old and the 2021 Champion Th ...

and Flightline.

Racing career

2021: three-year-old season

Cody's Wish began his racing career at the age of three. After three third-place finishes at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

and Saratoga, Cody's Wish broke his maiden in October at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

going one mile, with his namesake Cody Dorman in attendance. Cody's Wish finished the season with two more victories at Churchill in allowance company.

2022: four-year-old season

Cody's Wish's 2022 campaign began with a second-place finish in the Challenger Stakes at

Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs is an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility located in Westchase in Hillsborough County in the U.S. state of Florida, just outside Tampa. It opened in 1926 under the name Tampa Downs, and has also been known as Sunshine Pa ...

. He was then sent to

's Westchester Stakes in May, beating the short 5-horse field by an easy five lengths. After returning to Churchill to narrowly win the Hanshin Stakes, Cody's Wish was entered in the Grade I

at Saratoga going seven furlongs. After misbehaving in the starting gate, Cody's Wish settled toward the back of the seven-horse field, eventually roused by Junior Alvarado around the turn. He entered the stretch seven wide off the rail and rallied to upset champion

Jackie's Warrior Jackie's Warrior (foaled February 13, 2018) is a Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who has won five Grade I events including the Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga, the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park in 2020 and the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial ...

, who was softened up after being pressed for the lead, by 1 1/2 lengths. News of Cody Dorman, and the horse named after him, became more prominent in the period leading up to Cody's Wish's next start in the

. When asked about Cody's Wish's chances before the race, Dorman replied "He will win." Cody's Wish started from post 6 in the nine-horse Dirt Mile field, with Dorman allowed to watch the race from the winner's circle. Again breaking slowly and traveling at the rear of the field, Cody's Wish once again rallied while wide on the final turn, eventually passing Cyberknife in the stretch and winning by a head.

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

race caller

Larry Collmus Larry Collmus (born October 13, 1966) is a Thoroughbred horse racing announcer. A native of Baltimore, Collmus has called at numerous racetracks around the country. He is the race caller for NBC Sports' coverage of the Triple Crown and Breeders' ...

summed up the finish with these words: "The wish has come true! That one's for you, Cody!" Cody's Wish's was named the 2022 winner of the

Secretariat Vox Populi Award The Secretariat Vox Populi Award, also known as the "Voice of the People" award, was established in 2010 by Penny Chenery, who was the owner of Secretariat (horse), Secretariat. The annual award "recognizes the horse whose popularity and racing exce ...

, which recognizes horses whose racing excellence best resounded with the public. Dorman was awarded with the

Big Sport of Turfdom Award The Big Sport of Turfdom Award has been given annually by the Turf Publicists of America since 1966 to a person or group who enhances coverage of Thoroughbred racing through cooperation with the media and Thoroughbred racing publicists. The Turf Pu ...

by the Thoroughbred Publicists of America, which is given annually to those that enhance coverage of Thoroughbred racing through cooperation with media and racing publicists. Michael Banahan, director of bloodstock for Godolphin's U.S. operations, confirmed after the Breeders' Cup that Cody's Wish will remain in training for a 2023 campaign.

Statistics

''Notes:''
An (*) asterisk after the odds means Cody's Wish was the post-time favorite.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist, 2 2018 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Grade 1 Stakes winners Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winners