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I Got It Wrong, Cody’s Wish Is Horse Of The Year

What I wrote in Monday's TDN, that Idiomatic (Curlin) should be Horse of the Year, well, never mind.

It took the tragic news of the passing of Cody Dorman for me to wake up and realize that while Idiomatic had a terrific year, voting for her for Horse of the Year would mean not voting for Cody's Wish (Curlin), and what a mistake that would be.

Everything I had to say about the on-track credentials of the two remains the same. Both won a Breeders' Cup race, both won three Grade I's during the year. But I argued that Idiomatic's overall body of work gave her the edge over Cody's Wish and everyone else. She won eight of nine races and was on top of her game from January through Breeders' Cup day. In an era where most trainers and owners are happy to get four or five races from their horses during a year, what she accomplished was remarkable.

I still maintain that she had a better year than Cody's Wish. Just slightly so, anyway. What I failed to realize is that sometimes what happens on the racetrack is not all that matters, that it's ok to vote with your heart.

Cody's Wish had a Horse-of-the-Year campaign. Coming into the Breeders' Cup, he had won the GI Churchill Downs S, the GI Metropolitan H., the GII Vosburgh S. The only defeat came in the GI Whitney S., where, trying nine furlongs for the first time in his career, he was out of his element. I didn't think he would win Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. He just not as good around two turns as he is around one and I thought that, this year, that would prove to be his undoing. But he won the race again. In 2022, it was by a neck. This year it was by a nose. He was in race that is not in his comfort zone, but he won it anyway. He won it on class.

But the story is so much bigger than the Dirt Mile. Cody's Wish and Cody Dorman, who passed away Sunday at age 17 on his way back to Kentucky from Santa Anita, will forever be linked. We first met Dorman last year when the media latched onto his story. Born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, he first met Cody's Wish as a then-unnamed yearling while touring Godolphin as part of a Make-A-Wish outing.

We don't really understand how it happens, but we know that it does. Sometimes something magical happens when horses and humans befriend one another. The weanling acted as if he knew Dorman would was having a hard time of it and could use a friend. Gentle as a puppy, he nuzzled Dorman and then put his head in his lap.

Two years later, Dorman was not doing well. It got to the point where his parents feared he was losing the will to live. The antidote? Another visit to the farm to see the horse the Godolphin team had now named Cody's Wish. The two picked right up where they left off. From there, Dorman became Cody's Wish's biggest fan. He traveled to many of his races and was there for both Breeders' Cup wins. Tears rolled down his cheeks when his namesake won. His parents have said that his love affair with the horse led to a marked improvement in his outlook on life.

Horse racing has been beaten down by so many negative stories of late, mainly ones that involve horses dying on the track, and it needed something to pick its collective head up. And here comes Cody's Wish and Cody Dorman, a story that was so inspirational, so uplifting that everyone, even the most cynical among us, was moved, often to tears.

“This heartfelt story has touched the hearts of many in and outside of the Thoroughbred industry,” Dan Pride, chief operating officer of Godolphin, said in a statement. “And while Cody's passing has saddened us, we find comfort in knowing that Cody found many joyous moments during this journey with his best friend, Cody's Wish. Our hearts are with the Dorman family.”

We cheered every time Cody's Wish won, and not because we had a bet on him but because we knew what this horse was doing for a young man born with a syndrome that had to have made his life immensely difficult. We cheered because we knew this story made everyone feel better about a sport that was going through trying times.

So, should that matter when it comes to voting for Horse of the Year? Absolutely. There's no reason why we shouldn't look beyond the x's and o's of what happened on the racetrack and look at the bigger picture, take into account what made us smile, what moved us, what made for a good story.

When Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}) was named Horse of the Year in 2010 over Blame (Arch) I was on the losing end of that argument, voting for Blame. They had met once and Blame had beaten her in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Why didn't that mean he should have been named Horse of the Year and not Zenyatta? Looking back, I now get it. Zenyatta had had one of the most remarkable careers we have seen this century and one defeat shouldn't have erased everything else she accomplished and what a feel-good story she had been. Those who voted for her realized this was bigger than just the one race.

Though different, Cody's Wish and his story is much bigger than Zenyatta. We will see other great race horses, ones as good as Zenyatta. But we will never again see a story as special as the one that was the bond between a very good race horse and the young man who thrived in his presence.

That matters. It matters a lot. Cody's Wish is your Horse of the Year.

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The Week in Review: The Case for Idiomatic as Horse of the Year

More often than not, when the horses hit the finish line for the last Breeders' Cup race of the day, we know who the Horse of the Year is. Usually, someone has done enough to separate themselves from the pack: Flightline (Tapit), Knicks Go (Paynter), Authentic (Into Mischief). Or no one stepped up to unseat the leading contender going in.

We have nothing of the kind this year. There were plenty of standout performances on Breeders' Cup Day, but that's part of the problem. The leading contenders are so evenly matched on paper that this has turned into one of the most wide-open races for the title in memory.

There are five horses that deserve consideration for Horse of the Year: White Abarrio (Race Day); Cody's Wish (Curlin); Arcangelo (Arrogate); Up to the Mark (Not This Time); Idiomatic (Curlin).

Here are their credentials:

White Abarrio: He won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic and the last three winners of that race have been named Horse of the Year. He has two Grade I wins and they came in two huge spots, the Classic and the GI Whitney S. The knock on him is that's really all there is to his resume. He has just three wins on the year and the third was in an allowance race at Gulfstream.

Cody's Wish: He had another stellar year, topped by his repeat win in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. He was 4-for-5 on the year with three Grade I wins and another in a Grade II. Was a feel-good story, which probably should count for something. His lone setback on the year came when he tried nine furlongs in the Whitney and was whipped by White Abarrio, losing by 10 lengths.

Arcangelo: The colt and his trainer, the well-spoken and charismatic Jena Antonucci, gave the sport a lift when it really needed one, winning the GI Belmont S. He came right back to win the GI Travers S. and needed one more win, in the Classic, to lock up Horse of the Year. That didn't happen when he had to be withdrawn from the race with a foot issue. Missing the Classic puts him at a disadvantage because so many Breeders' Cup winners have strong credentials. Also the winner of the GIII Peter Pan. S., he has three stakes wins and two Grade I wins on the year.

Up To The Mark: Had he won the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, he would have wrapped up Horse of the Year. But he didn't, losing by three-quarters of a length. He was unlucky to lose. On the winner, Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), jockey Ryan Moore turned in one of the best rides in Breeders' Cup history, saving every inch of ground and daring to go through what was a tight opening on the rail. Even in defeat, Up to the Mark deserves credit for his performance in the Turf. He was beaten by a horse who had won three of the biggest races in Europe in the G1 Irish Champion S., the G1 Irish Derby and the G1 Epsom Derby. Up to the Mark was 5-for-7 on the year and won three stakes, all of them Grade I's.

Idiomatic: Capped off a stellar year by defeating a strong field with a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. It probably wasn't even her best race as she had to grind every step of the way in the stretch to win in a blanket finish in which four horses were separated by little more than a length at the wire. She got a 96 Beyer, her lowest figure since she was second in the May 6 GI Ruffian S. at Belmont. She was 8-for-9 on the year, won three Grade I's, a Grade II and a Grade III. The Distaff was her fifth straight win. The only knock is that she spent the first part of her year running in allowance races and in the Latonia S. at Turfway Park.

And the winner is?

With apologies to Cody's Wish, Arcangelo, White Abarrio, my vote goes to Idiomatic. Like Cody's Wish and Up to the Mark, she won three Grade I races. No one won more. Like White Abarrio and Cody's Wish, she is a Breeders' Cup winner. What sets her apart from the rest is her overall body of work. Horse of the Year shouldn't always be about who won the Classic or who had the best performance on Breeders' Cup Day. Voters need to give consideration to who had the best year, from start to finish. In an era where five races on the year from a White Abarrio can be considered a full campaign, what Idiomatic did was remarkable. She ran nine times, won eight races and made starts in all but two months, April and September. Top-level horses just don't do that anymore.

It's not easy for a filly or mare to be named Horse of the Year. No one has done it since Havre de Grace (Saint Liam) in 2011 and it's only been done six times since the inception of the Eclipse Awards in 1971. It only happens when there's no no-brainer candidate among the male horses, which was the case this year.

It's a tough call and I have no problem with any of the five horses I've mentioned being named Horse of the Year, but Idiomatic deserves to be recognized for a year unlike anything we've seen in a long time.

More Eclipse Thoughts

I will have a real problem with anyone who votes for Auguste Rodin over Up to the Mark for the male turf championship. Yes, Auguste Rodin beat Up to the Mark in the Turf and, yes, he won three big Group I's in Europe. But these are the championships of American racing and what he did in Europe doesn't matter. Eclipse voters have always given too much consideration to these one-hit wonders who swoop in from Europe and win a Breeders' Cup race. As is the case with Idiomatic, you have to look at a horse's overall body of work and Up to the Mark was the best turf horse this country has produced since Bricks and Mortar (Giant's Causeway), the 2019 Horse of the Year. He is the turf champion.

The Amazing Irad Ortiz Jr.

Irad Ortiz Jr. won three more Breeders' Cup races, giving him 20 for his career and moving him to second place behind Mike Smith, who has won 27 races. What Ortiz has done in such a short period of time is remarkable, and he is on pace to blow apart all Breeders' Cup records for jockeys.

Ortiz didn't have his first Breeders' Cup mount until 2012 and his first Breeders' Cup winner until 2014. He's just 31 and should have at least 20 more good years in front of him. Smith didn't ride his 20th Breeders' Cup winner until he was 48 and it took him 23 years to get there. Ortiz is going to blow right past him on his way to setting records that may never be broken.

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Arrogate’s Grade I-Winning Daughters on Display at Fasig-Tipton

With his third and final crop wrapping up their juvenile season, Arrogate has a narrow window remaining to make his mark as a sire, and yet his legacy is far from being fully written as his offspring now begin their careers as producers.

Arrogate, the son of Unbridled's Song who delivered one jaw-dropping performance after another on the racetrack, began his stud career at Juddmonte with seemingly limitless potential until he suddenly and tragically passed away the summer before his first crop sold as yearlings. Since then his progeny have succeeded at the highest level and Arrogate is now responsible for more Grade I winners than any other third-crop sire aside from Gun Runner.

Among his five Grade I winners, three daughters of Arrogate will begin the next chapters of their careers this week as And Tell Me Nolies, Fun to Dream and Secret Oath go through the ring at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

“Arrogate was honestly one of the most talented racehorses I think any of us have witnessed,” reflected Fasig-Tipton's Boyd Browning. “The name Juddmonte is synonymous with the highest caliber and Arrogate certainly achieved that as a racehorse. He has clearly passed that on to his offspring with their desire to win and to compete. When you look at the success that he's had at the highest levels, it's pretty remarkable. We all mourn his loss because I think we're going to see that we had an opportunity to witness another great stallion in the making, but his influence will continue on through these outstanding daughters as well.”

The first to claim Grade I status for her sire, Secret Oath won an unforgettable edition of the Kentucky Oaks when she handed legendary conditioner D. Wayne Lukas his fifth Oaks win in her two-length score over a field that featured champions Nest (Curlin) and Echo Zulu (Gun Runner).

Secret Oath's career was nothing short of a fairytale story for her owners and breeders, Robert and Stacy Mitchell of Briland Farm. Out of their stakes-winning, Grade I-placed homebred Absinthe Minded (Quiet American), Secret Oath was a winner at two and her 3-year-old season included two standout performances against males with a third-place finish in the GI Arkansas Derby and a fourth-place effort in the GI Preakness S. She also claimed the GIII Honeybee S. by seven and a half lengths and was second to Nest in both the GI Coaching Club American Oaks and GI Alabama S.

This year at four, Secret Oath scored in the GII Azeri S., defeating MGISW Clairiere (Curlin), and was runner-up in three more Grade I contests. She placed in 14 of her 18 career starts and earned over $2.4 million.

“She was a picture of consistency,” Lukas said upon her retirement in October. “She showed up every time. Whenever I ran her she was right there. Secret Oath was good every time we started her. She always hit the board.”

And Tell Me Nolies wins the GI Del Mar Debutante | Benoit

And Tell Me Nolies was the first to prove Arrogate's ability to produce a top-level juvenile with her victory in the 2022 GI Del Mar Debutante, but the next day Cave Rock followed her effort up with a win in the GI Del Mar Futurity. A month later, the pair claimed headlines on the same day as Cave Rock got his third straight win in the GI American Pharoah and And Tell Me Nolies stumbled at the start but rallied to win the GII Chandelier.

A $230,000 2-year-old purchase out of a Grade III-winning half-sister to GISW Macho Again (Macho Uno), And Tell Me Nolies went on to claim two runner-up efforts behind Faiza (Girvin) this year in the GIII Santa Ysabel S. and GII Santa Anita Oaks and later run third in her turf debut in the GII San Clemente S.

Arrogate's third Grade I-winning daughter Fun to Dream was a debut winner at three and she followed that effort with a near 10-length victory in the Fleet Treat S. Trained and co-bred by Bob Baffert, the Cal-bred filly boasted a near perfect five-for-six record as a sophomore when she concluded the year with a win in the GI La Brea S. This year at four, Fun to Dream claimed the GII Santa Monica S. and lost by a narrow head to A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo) in the GI Beholder Mile S.

Fun to Dream scores in the GI La Brea S. | Benoit

Arrogate's influence continued to grow this year with the achievements of Arcangelo, winner of the GI Belmont S. and GI Travers S. Withdrawn from the Breeders' Cup Classic due to a foot issue, Arcangelo will be the first son of Arrogate to go to stud as he retires to Lane's End Farm.

Although dual Grade I winner and Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up Cave Rock sadly died of laminitis, Arrogate could perhaps have another potential heir from his final crop in Liberal Arts, winner of the GIII Street Sense S. on Oct. 29.

“It's a continuation of a sire line that has been a really important influence in North American racing over the last 25 years in Unbridled's Song,” said Browning. “Arrogate is out of a Distorted Humor mare, so you've got really some of the 'who's who' of North America racing assembled in terms of a pedigree perspective and they've achieved the success on the racetrack.”

A fourth graded stakes winner by Arrogate will be offered at Fasig-Tipton on Nov. 7. Campaigned by AMO Racing and trained by Graham Motion, Affirmative Lady, who is out of stakes winner Stiffed (Stephen Got Even), was a contender on the Kentucky Oaks trail as she ran second to Julia Shining (Curlin) in the GII Demoiselle S. at two and this year claimed the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks, defeating GISP Sacred Wish (Not This Time).

“We've now got four daughters that are of the highest level of success and I think it gives people the opportunity to have a piece of history and continue the legacy of Arrogate as he makes his mark for future generations.”

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Dettori Magic Grants Frankel First Breeders’ Cup Winner With Inspiral In Filly & Mare Turf

Cheveley Park Stud homebred INSPIRAL (GB) (Frankel {GB}–Starscope {GB}, by Selkirk) became the first Breeders' Cup winner for her Juddmonte sire with a narrow victory over dual Group 1 winner Warm Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the $2-million GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf on Saturday. It was the second win in the race for Cheveley Park's Thompson family, who also took the 2016 edition with Queen's Trust (GB) (Dansili {GB}).

One of the back-markers crossing the dirt in the 1 1/4-mile contest, the 5-2 favorite found plenty of friendly cover in the master hands of Frankie Dettori who was looking for his 15th Breeders' Cup success. Glued to the rail into the clubhouse turn behind a half-mile in :46.90 as four-time Grade I winner and last year's runner-up 'TDN Rising Star' In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) showed the way, the filly was in a good rhythm on the backstretch. Creeping closer on the far turn, Dettori shook his filly up at the quarter pole and she produced a killer burst of speed to win coming over the top of the field in the lane to just pip stretch leader Warm Heart, who had saved all the ground, by a neck in the final two jumps. The Coolmore runner was a length better than the remainder. 2022 Canadian Horse of the Year Moira (Ghostzapper) just nosed out G1 Hong Kong Vase heroine Win Marilyn (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}) for third.

Dettori, who will not be retiring as originally planned and has instead relocated to the Southern California jockeys' colony, said, “She jumped good. I got squeezed out [after the break]. I really wanted to be where William [Buick on With The Moonlight (Ire) (Frankel {GB})] was, but he got there before me.

“She needs a quarter of a mile to get really in top gear. She was flying. For the team, this was always the plan. Give credit to everyone — John, Thady, and the Cheveley Park team that supplemented for this race. Coming in here this week, I thought she's my best ride, and she proved me right.”

Said John Gosden, “They [Cheveley] bred her, and the whole team there with Richard Thompson here, Patricia's son, it's a wonderful achievement for them.”

Added Cheveley's Richard Thompson, “This is such a special feeling, obviously, winning the Breeders' Cup with Inspiral. Chris is sitting next to me here. He runs the stuff for us, the family, my mother, et cetera. To have a homebred filly win the Breeders' Cup is just–six in Group 1, it's the pinnacle of everything we strive for at Cheveley, to breed a filly like this.”

Said Cheveley Park Stud's manager director Chris Richardson, “Pleased to say she stays in training, which is very exciting. I think her last performance in the Sun Chariot S. at Newmarket was one of the most impressive up until today.

“John has done a magnificent job in getting the filly, who is quite a high-strung filly — always has been, ever since she was a foal — to perform today at the highest level is a huge accolade to Patricia Thompson and the Thompson family.”

Unbeatable as a juvenile and named the Cartier Champion 2-Year-Old Filly after four victories by a combined 11 1/4 lengths including the G1 Fillies' Mile, Inspiral picked up right where she left off with another Group 1 victory, this time in Royal Ascot's Coronation S. in June of 2022. Second in the G1 Falmouth S. last July, she claimed her first of two G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois in France in August. At year's end, she became only the third filly to also be named the Cartier Champion 3-Year-Old Filly. This term, Inspiral missed in the G1 Queen Anne S. by a neck in June, and resumed with another Prix Jacques Le Marois score in August. Most recently, she landed the G1 Sun Chariot S. at Newbury on Oct. 7. Saturday's contest was her first start beyond a mile. Earlier in the day, the Cheveley colors had been borne by Regal Jubilee (GB) (Frankel {GB}) to victory in the Listed Montrose Fillies' S. at Newmarket.

Already a five-time Group 1 winner, the filly had been due to run on QIPCO British Champions Day last month, but the heavy ground put paid to that plan. Next year's Breeders' Cup at Del Mar is a possibility, as well.

Added Gosden, who trains with his son Thady, “She was poising for the Queen Elizabeth II S. at Ascot, but the rain arrived, and the terrain came too deep. She was in the race and we didn't even declare her to run. We said, right, we're coming here.

“The way she came and finished and the way she galloped out, she's probably saying that the trainer has been running her over the wrong distance the last year.

“Whether you go for the like of the [G1] Lockinge or the Queen Anne or she's meant to stay in training. I could see the [G1] Juddmonte International being a very key race for her next year. I think, if she's in great order next year, there will be no question but to consider Del Mar very seriously. Particularly since the trainer and his wife love coming back to California.”

Pedigree Notes:

Through the Filly & Mare Turf, Juddmonte's Frankel has only had five Breeders' Cup starters. She is one of his most decorated progeny, however, and one of 33 top-tier winners. With her victory on Saturday, she is tied with Frankel's 2022 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Tromphe winner Alpinista (GB) for most top-drawer victories at six.

Runner-up in the G1 1000 Guineas and G1 Coronation S. in the Cheveley red-white-and-blue, Inspiral's dam Starscope is a half-sister to listed winner Solar Magic (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and has also foaled the stakes-placed Celestran (GB) (Dansili {GB}). Starscope's Ulysses (Ire) yearling colt brought 160,000gns from Stetchworth and Middle Park Studs out of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and has since been named Stetchworth Friend (GB). Her winning 8-year-old daughter Lunar Corona (GB) (Dansili {GB}) will be consigned by Cheveley in foal to Twilight Son (GB) (lot 1431) as part of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale next month.

Third dam Mystic Goddess, who won the Listed Sweet Solera S. and was placed thrice in Group 3s, is a half-sister to Italian champion and Group 1 winner Sanam (Golden Act), while she threw two-time Group 1 winner and eventual Cheveley Park stallion Medicean (GB) to the cover of Machiavellian. The Thompsons first got involved with the female family when they purchased Inspiral's fourth dam Rose Goddess (Ire) (Sassafras {Fr}) for $450,000 out of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale carrying to Diesis (GB) in 1988.

Saturday, Santa Anita Park
MAKER'S MARK BREEDERS' CUP FILLY & MARE TURF-GI, $1,840,000, Santa Anita, 11-4, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/4mT, 1:59.06, fm.
1–INSPIRAL (GB), 124, f, 4, by Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Starscope (GB) (MG1SP-Eng, $251,626), by Selkirk
                2nd Dam: Moon Goddess (GB), by Rainbow Quest
                3rd Dam: Mystic Goddess, by Storm Bird
O/B-Cheveley Park Stud Limited (GB); T-John H. M. Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. $1,040,000. Lifetime Record: MG1SW-Eng, MG1SW-Fr, 13-9-2-0, $3,639,932. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Warm Heart (Ire), 120, f, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Sea Siren (Aus) (Hwt. Older Mare-Ire- at 5 – 7 f., MG1SW-Aus, SW & MGSP-Ire, $1,743,772), by Fastnet Rock (Aus)
                2nd Dam: Express A Smile (Aus), by Success Express
                3rd Dam: Hold That Smile (Aus), by Haulpak (Aus)
O-Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan P. O'Brien. $340,000.
3–Moira, 124, f, 4, by Ghostzapper
1st Dam: Devine Aida (MSW & GSP, $273,215), by Unbridled's Song
                2nd Dam: Passion, by Came Home
                3rd Dam: Rajmata, by Known Fact
($150,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Madaket Stables LLC, SF Racing LLC and X-Men Racing; B-Adena Springs (ON); T-Kevin Attard. $180,000.
Margins: NK, 1, NO. Odds: 2.50, 4.20, 13.50.
Also Ran: Win Marilyn (Jpn), In Italian (GB), Lumiere Rock (Ire), With The Moonlight (Ire), Lindy (Fr), State Occasion (GB), Didia (Arg), Fev Rover (Ire), McKulick (GB).
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

REPLAY: Inspiral (GB) wins the $2 Million @MakersMark #BreedersCup Filly & Mare Turf! Congrats to her connections! #BC23 pic.twitter.com/CmTKJupCj9

— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) November 4, 2023

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