TOP 8: CODY’S WISH

Horse Profile


Characteristics


Major Won Races


Achievements


Rankings


Retirement Plan

Horse Profile

• Foaled: May 3, 2018 
• Bred: USA 
• Sex: Stallion 
• Debuted: 2021 
• Retirement: 2024 
• Death: N/A 
• Color and Markings: bay with a diamond-white blaze 

• Sire: Curlin 
• Dam: Dance Card 
• Owners: Godolphin 
• Breeder: Godolphin 
• Trainer: William I. Mott 
• Primary/ Regular Jockeys: Junior Alvarado 

Characteristics

• Brown said Cody’s Wish was an all-around top-quality horse.  
• He was a strong bay horse with great determination on the track and a relaxed and laid-back disposition.  
• His dedicated jockey, Junior Alvarado, sheds light on the horse’s distinctive temperament. Cody’s Wish, marching to the beat of his drum, initially appeared aloof to Alvarado’s signals, illustrating his self-governing essence. It was not a mark of defiance but a reflection of a horse with a deep-seated sense of self, a majestic beast with a plan steadfast in his unique path. As time unfurled, a harmonious bond flourished; the steed became finely tuned to Alvarado’s steering, their rapport deepening as Cody’s Wish evolved into a more perceptive and insightful competitor. 
• Most of his best performances started coming off the pace and launching a powerful drive. 

Major Won Races

• 
  Forego Stakes (2022)
• 
  Westchester Stakes (2022)
• 
  Churchill Downs Stakes (2023)
• 
  Metropolitan Handicap (2023)
• 
  Vosburgh Stakes (2023)
• 
  Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (2022, 2023)

Achievements

• He was awarded the Secretariat Vox Populi Award (2022, 2023).

• He was rated 119 pounds in the Mile category on the 2022 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, 21 pounds below overall high-weight Flightline.

Rankings

• He ranked 8th in earnings in 2023. 
• He ranked 28th in earnings in 2022. 

Retirement Plan

The retirement plan of Cody’s Wish was announced the day after the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile by Darley America. He would stand his first breeding season in 2024 at Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, for a stud fee of $75,000.  

Horse Profile

• Foaled: May 3, 2018 
• Bred: USA 
• Sex: Stallion 
• Debuted: 2021 
• Retirement: 2024 
• Death: N/A 
• Color and Markings: bay with a diamond-white blaze 

• Sire: Curlin 
• Dam: Dance Card 
• Owners: Godolphin 
• Breeder: Godolphin 
• Trainer: William I. Mott 
• Primary/ Regular Jockeys: Junior Alvarado 

Characteristics

• Brown said Cody’s Wish was an all-around top-quality horse.  
• He was a strong bay horse with great determination on the track and a relaxed and laid-back disposition.  
• His dedicated jockey, Junior Alvarado, sheds light on the horse’s distinctive temperament. Cody’s Wish, marching to the beat of his drum, initially appeared aloof to Alvarado’s signals, illustrating his self-governing essence. It was not a mark of defiance but a reflection of a horse with a deep-seated sense of self, a majestic beast with a plan steadfast in his unique path. As time unfurled, a harmonious bond flourished; the steed became finely tuned to Alvarado’s steering, their rapport deepening as Cody’s Wish evolved into a more perceptive and insightful competitor. 
• Most of his best performances started coming off the pace and launching a powerful drive. 

Major Won Races

• 
  Forego Stakes (2022)
• 
  Westchester Stakes (2022)
• 
  Churchill Downs Stakes (2023)
• 
  Metropolitan Handicap (2023)
• 
  Vosburgh Stakes (2023)
• 
  Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (2022, 2023)

Achievements

• He was awarded the Secretariat Vox Populi Award (2022, 2023).

• He was rated 119 pounds in the Mile category on the 2022 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, 21 pounds below overall high-weight Flightline.

Rankings

• He ranked 8th in earnings in 2023. 
• He ranked 28th in earnings in 2022. 

Retirement Plan

The retirement plan of Cody’s Wish was announced the day after the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile by Darley America. He would stand his first breeding season in 2024 at Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, for a stud fee of $75,000.  

Cody’s Wish Connections

• Jockey: Junior Alvarado 

• • One of his top horses for 2022 was Cody’s Wish, giving Alvarado his first Breeders’ Cup win in the Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile at Keeneland. 
  • Alvarado had been Cody’s Wish’s regular rider throughout most of the 2022 season, which included a victory in the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga. 
  • He ranked 13th in earnings and 96th in wins in 2023. 
  • He ranked 74th in wins and 17th in earnings in 2022. 

• Trainer: William I. Mott 

• • Mott admitted that the story of Cody Dorman and Cody’s Wish inspired many people – to see what it has done for Cody Dorman and his family and that sometimes wishes indeed come true. 
  • He ranked 26th in wins and 5th in earnings in 2023. 
  • He ranked 24th in wins and 5th in earnings in 2022. 
  • He ranked 22nd in wins and 8th in earnings in 2021. 

• Owner: Godolphin  

• • Godolphin enjoyed a successful 2022 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland, where it won four Championship races, including the Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile with Cody’s Wish. 
  • He ranked 5th in wins and 1st in earnings in 2022 and 2023. 
  • He ranked 6th in wins and 1st in earnings in 2021. 

Racing Career

Pedigree

SIRE: Curlin

• Curlin is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the American Horse of the Year in 2007 and 2008. He retired in 2008 as the highest North American money earner with over US$10.5 million accumulated. His major won races were the 2007 Preakness Stakes, 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic, and 2008 Dubai World Cup. In August 2008, Timeform assigned a 134 rating for Curlin, calling him the best horse in the world on dirt. Curlin was also elected to the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 2014. 
• Curlin’s father, Smart Strike, is a former Sam-Son Farm racing team star in Ontario, Canada. Smart Strike is a half-brother of 1991 Canadian Triple Crown winner Dance Smartly. 
• Curlin’s mare is Sherriff’s Deputy, a daughter of Canadian Horse of the Year, and two-time North American Champion sire Deputy Minister. 

DAM: Dance Card

• Dance Card’s sire, Tapit, is the king of the Belmont with four winners and the broodmare sire of 13 Grade I winners. He broke a North American sire’s single-season progeny earnings record in three consecutive years (2014-2016). He also broke Danzig’s 24-year-old single-season progeny earnings. 
• Tapit’s dam, Tap Your Heels, is a stakes-winning mare. 
• Tapit’s grandsire is A.P. Indy, the 1992 Horse of the Year and an outstanding sire.  
• Dance Card’s mare, Tempting Note, was produced by Tempt, whose listed stakes-winning half-sister Habar (by Track Barron) is the dam of restricted stakes winner Little Hero (by Valley Crossing).  
• Dance Card’s grand-grand mare is Thinghatab (by Al Hattab), a multiple Grade 3 winner, a full sister to Grade 3 winner Tabayour, and a half-sister to stakes winner J. Rodney G. (by Bold Favorite). The female line traces back to the great matriarch La Troienne via Baby League. 
• Dance Card’s grand-grand sire, Forty Niner, was an American champion thoroughbred racehorse and was a leading freshman sire in 1992 and third leading sire by U.S. earnings in 1996.  
• Dance Card’s other grand-grand sire is Devil’s Bag, an American champion Thoroughbred racehorse syndicated as a two-year-old for US$36 million, the highest price for any 2-year-old in racing history.