American Horse of the Year (2023)

American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse (2023)

CODY'S WISH - 2023 Horse of the Year winning the Dirt Mile at the Breeders' Cup by holding off the Preakness winner, National Treasure. 

The back story of Cody Dorman and the horse that carries his name is one of the great stories in horse racing . . . in all sports . . . truly amazing. 

Over the last couple months, we've sold the original of this painting with all the proceeds going to charity.   After selling the original at the TOBA Awards, I was approached by the Dorman family. Hearing first hand the stories from Cody's father, Kelly, was extremely moving.

Kelly told me that Cody had one passion for the rest of his life and it was to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.   Kelly told me that Cody learned to write in the last years of his life. Kelly sent to me the hand written note by Cody that is attached. Cody asks for help to support this efforts on behalf of the Make-A-Wish Foundation . . . The boy that captured our hearts only asked for one thing.  Read his note . . . and imagine the courage and love it takes for a person whose personal health issues are set aside to try to help others. 

This Limited Edition print is by popular demand.  These prints will be sold with 50% of the proceeds going to Cody Foundation within the Make-A-Wish organization.

There will be only 100 prints at $250 (plus shipping).  Print #1 was auctioned off at the Ocala Race for Grace for $1,500. 

Side note: Each wish funded by the Make-A-Wish Foundation costs about $10,000.  Can WE fund one more wish through the Cody Foundation?  PLEASE: You can HELP -  buy a print, share this post.

Cody's Wish is one of those rare horses whose story belongs as much to the people who loved him as to the racing record book. He was a bay colt born in 2018 in Kentucky and bred by Godolphin, the racing operation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. His sire was Curlin, the two time Horse of the Year of 2007 and 2008 who has become one of the most powerful sires in America. His dam was Dance Card, a Grade 1 winning filly by Tapit, which made him the foal of two of the most respected American sires of the modern era. He was trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and ridden in his biggest races by Junior Alvarado. His pedigree alone would have made him a horse to watch, but it was the way he got his name that made him impossible to forget.

The story began in 2018, when a young Kentucky boy named Cody Dorman, who lived with the rare genetic condition Wolf Hirschhorn Syndrome and used a wheelchair, visited Godolphin's Gainsborough Farm through the Make A Wish Foundation. Cody Dorman was introduced to a tiny weanling colt by Curlin, and in front of everyone, the young horse walked over to Cody Dorman, lowered his head, and rested it gently in the boy's lap. The bond was instant, and the colt was given his name, Cody's Wish, in honor of the boy who had charmed him. The two grew up alongside each other from that day forward. Cody Dorman and his family attended his races whenever they could, and the colt always seemed to know they were there. It became one of the most touching ongoing stories in modern American racing.

The racing was every bit as remarkable. Cody's Wish broke his maiden at Churchill Downs in 2021 with Cody Dorman in attendance and grew into a top class older miler. In 2022, he won four of five starts, including the Forego Stakes at Saratoga and the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland, where he caught Cyberknife in the final strides to win by a head. In 2023, he came back even better, winning the Metropolitan Handicap, the Whitney Stakes, the Lukas Classic, and finally the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile for a second time, this time by a nose over Preakness winner National Treasure in a stretch duel that left Santa Anita roaring. The Hollywood ending nearly turned tragic. Cody Dorman watched that second Breeders' Cup victory in person, then died the next day on the flight home from California. He was 17 years old. Cody's Wish was retired soon after, finishing his career with eleven wins in sixteen starts and earnings of more than 3.1 million dollars. He was named the 2023 Eclipse Award winner as both Champion Older Dirt Male and Horse of the Year. He went home to Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky to begin his stud career, where his story will keep on growing through the foals he sires. Cody's Wish belongs to a small group of horses whose lives have meant something far beyond winning races, and the friendship he shared with Cody Dorman is the reason racing fans will keep telling his story for many years to come.

Sources:

• Cody's Wish, Wikipedia

• Cody's Wish Voted 2023 Horse of the Year, NTRA

• Cody's Wish Completes Fairytale Ending in BC Dirt Mile, BloodHorse

• 'Just Like A Hollywood Story': Cody's Wish Fulfilled In Emotional Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Paulick Report

• Cody's Wish: Making Dreams Come True at Breeders' Cup, America's Best Racing

Sire Curlin

Grandsire Smart Strike

Dam Dance Card

Damsire Tapit

Sex Stallion

Foaled 5/3/2018

Country United States

Colour Bay

Breeder Godolphin

Owner Godolphin

Trainer William I. Mott

Major wins

Forego Stakes (2022)

Westchester Stakes (2022)

Churchill Downs Stakes (2023)

Metropolitan Handicap (2023)

Vosburgh Stakes (2023)

Breeders' Cup wins:

Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (2022, 2023)

Awards

American Horse of the Year (2023)

American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse (2023)

Secretariat Vox Populi Award (2022, 2023)