A year ago, Cody's Wish won the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile for the second year running, this time after an inquiry, at odds of 8/10 at Del Mar Racetrack. We have just witnessed the 18th edition of this race, added in 2007 to the already robust "supersize me" program of the American horseracing championship, which has grown from eight to fourteen races since its inception forty years ago.
To put this into perspective, the same amount of time has passed between the first edition of the Breeders' Cup and today as between D-Day in Normandy and the inauguration of this great invention by American breeder John Gaines in 1984.
Remarkable, isn't it?
But more than just the victory of an American horse in a race designed for American horses, even one owned by Godolphin, it is to Cody Dorman that the event owes its place in many memories. This 17-year-old was born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that can cause delayed growth, intellectual disability and seizures. He had undergone over forty operations to survive and could only communicate using a tablet.
Five years earlier, during a visit by Cody and his parents to Gainsborough Farm in Kentucky, a foal by Curlin, not yet named Cody's Wish, was growing up. "He was a nice, quiet, laid-back foal," stud manager Danny Mulvihill recalled. "It was very important from my point of view to see if we could get a foal close to Cody, knowing he was in a wheelchair." This family visit had been organized by Keeneland for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which tries to grant the wishes of children in difficulty.
And so it was that the foal, after sniffing his visitor and his unusual equipment, rested his head on the young man's lap, who was obviously delighted. A small miracle.
Godolphin, breeder and owner of the foal, soon named the colt Cody's Wish and two years later, he would return to his friend every time he visited... “And Cody, you know, that deep belly laugh. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve heard him do that.” recalls the young man's father, Kelly, in an NBC Video.
Later, when the horse became a particularly competitive champion, Cody Dorman and his family naturally continued to support him at the racetracks. The story became very popular, culminating in that day in November 2023, the day of the horse's last race.
Tragedy struck again, however, as Cody passed away the day after his champion's second Breeders' Cup victory, on his way back home to Kentucky.
A book has since been published, and a film is currently in the works.
This therapeutic ability of horses with people in distress is well known. They help veterans recover and cope with depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Peyo, a former dressage horse, visits patients in hospitals and retirement homes with his rider Hassen Bouchakour.
Once there, he goes directly to those most in need and his presence acts on them like a charm.
Read the NBC Video on 24 Breeders’Cup day: https://youtu.be/_srCsf01cjc?si=GDCsrsmD0DZ6ecL_