Cody's Wish deserves Horse of Year, though not all will agree
When the connections for Cody's Wish bring home the Horse of the Year hardware next Thursday night from The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, there will be naysayers who scoff at the selection.
Cody's Wish is not a slam dunk to win the most prestigious of the Eclipse Awards like Flightline in 2023. But he's a deserving winner because of not only what he did on the race track, but the story off the track as well.
On the track, he was as consistent as a horse can be, winning four of five starts last year. Three of the victories — the Met Mile, Churchill Downs Stakes and Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile — were Grade I stakes. His only defeat came when he finished third in the Grade I Whitney at Saratoga at a distance (a mile and an eighth) that was out of his element.
Don't try telling me the son of Curlin is not Horse of the Year. We already outlined his exploits on the track, so now let's remind you of the publicity he generated for the sport off it. Who knows the number of fans who were touched by the story of a horse named after the late Cody Dorman, born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. They shared a special bond and Dorman, who perhaps sensed that his namesake had run his final race at the Breeders' Cup, died on the way home the next day.
Cody's Wish will not be a unanimous winner next Thursday. Some will have cast their ballots for Breeders' Cup Classic winner White Abarrio, while others perhaps went with the brilliant filly Idiomatic. Both are fine choices and in another year they might have taken home top honors.
But consider this — while White Albarrio shined in the Grade I Whitney along with the Breeders' Cup triumph, he didn't attract the attention of racing fans from around the country. Neither did Idiomatic, who won three Grade I stakes, a Grade II and a Grade III but wasn't a horse who brought attention to the sport. Like Secretariat, like Zenyatta, Cody's Wish was a one-horse publicity machine.
Here is one man's Eclipse ballot:
Horse of the Year: 1. Cody's Wish, 2. Idiomatic, 3. White Abarrio
Two-year-old male: 1. Fierceness, 2. Muth, 3. Timberlake Two-year-old filly: 1. Just F. Y.
Justify, 3. Jody's
Three-year-old male: 1. Arcangelo, 2. Program Trading, 3. Forte
Three-year-old filly: 1. Pretty Mischievous, 2. Anisette, 3. Ceiling Crusher
Older Dirt Male: 1. Cody's Wish,
2. White Abarrio, 3. Elite Power Older Dirt Female: 1. Idiomatic,
2. Goodnight Olive, 3. Clairiere Male Sprinter: 1. Elite Power, 2. Cody's Wish, 3. Gunite
Female Sprinter: 1. Goodnight Olive, 2. Echo Zulu, 3. Maple Leaf Mel
Male Turf Horse: 1. Auguste Rodin, 2. Up to the Mark, 3. Master of The Seas
Female Turf Horse:
2. Mawj, 3. Anisette
Jockey: 1. Javier Castellano, 2. Flavien Prat, 3. Irad Ortiz, Jr. Apprentice Jockey: 1. Jaime Torres, 2. Axel Concepcion, 3. Luis Rivera, Jr.
Trainer: 1. Bill Mott, 2. Chad Brown, 3. Brad Cox
OUT OF THE GATE
SANTA ANITA LEADERS Through Thursday Jockeys / Wins
Juan Hernandez / 16 Flavien Pratt / 15
Antonio Fresu / 13
Frankie Dettori / 9 Umberto Rispoli / 6
Mark Glatt / 8
Steve Knapp / 8 Philip D'Amato / 7 Bob Baffert / 6 Richard Mandella / 6
WEEKEND STAKES
SANTA ANITA
Saturday
▪ $100,000III La Canada Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, 11/16 miles Sunday
▪ $100,000Astra Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, 11/2 miles (turf)
DOWN THE STRETCH
▪ Edwin Maldonado, tied with Armando Ayuso in the jockey standings with six victories, plans to return riding Saturday after missing two weeks because of a shoulder injury. The 41-year-old Maldonado was unseated during a morning workout on Jan. 6 when his mount stumbled while galloping on the main track.
▪ The Doug O'Neill-trained Slow Down Andy, whose connections had hoped to run the son of 2016Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist in the Breeders' Cup Classic last November at Santa Anita, worked for the first time Sunday since his victory in the Grade I Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 30. Slow Down Andy, forced to sit out the Breeders' Cup because of filling in an ankle, worked 3furlongs in 37.0seconds. He's earned more than $1.2million while winning five of 14starts to go with four seconds and a third. One of his most impressive efforts came in last summer's Pacific Classic when he finished third behind Arabian Knight and Geaux Rocket Ride.
▪ Three-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Victor Espinoza, 51, scored his first victory at Santa Anita's Classic Meet, winning with the Steve Knapp-trained Disko Tribute at 6-1in the seventh race Monday. Espinoza, who has 3,508victories and career earnings of $212,471during his career, won the 2002Derby with the Bob Baffert-trained War Emblem. He came back to win the 2014running with the popular California Chome and then won the Triple Crown aboard American Pharoah for Baffert the following year.
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK
NFL
Favorite
Saturday
at Baltimore at San Fran.
Sunday
at Detroit at Buffalo
NBA
Favorite
at Lakers at Charlotte Philadelphia at Boston at New Orleans at Miami at Portland
College Basketball
Favorite
F. Dickinson at Xavier at Rider at Mt. St. Mary's Toledo at St. Francis at VCU at Iona at Fairfield Akron at C. Conn. St. at Merrimack Quinnipiac at Wisconsin at Colorado St
NHL
Favorite
Friday
at Florida at Carolina New Jersey New York
ATP-WTA-AUSTRALIAN OPEN
At Melbourne Park Melbourne, Australia Surface:
Hardcourt outdoor
MEN'S SINGLES
Second Round
Alex Michelsen, United States, def. Jiri Lehecka (32), Czech Republic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Casper Ruud (11), Norway, def. Max Purcell, Australia, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7). Alexander Zverev (6), Germany, def. Lukas Klein, Slovakia, 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7). Cameron Norrie (19), Britain, def. Giulio Zeppieri, Italy, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. Tommy Paul (14), United States, def. Jack Draper, Britain, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Nuno Borges, Portugal, def. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (23), Spain, 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-3. Miomir Kecmanovic, Serbia, def. Jan-Lennard Struff (24), Germany, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5),
1-6, 7-6 (9). Carlos Alcaraz (2), Spain, def. Lorenzo Sonego, Italy, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (3). Juncheng Shang, China, def. Sumit Nagal, India, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. Tallon Griekspoor (28), Netherlands, def. Arthur Fils, France, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4. Ugo Humbert (21), France, def. Zhang Zhizhen, China, 6-2, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (3). Grigor Dimitrov (13), Bulgaria, def. Thanasi Kokkinakis, Australia, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Arthur Cazaux, France, def. Holger Rune (8), Denmark, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Felix Auger-Aliassime (27), Canada, def. Hugo Grenier, France, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Hubert Hurkacz (9), Poland, def. Jakub Mensik, Czech Republic, 6-7 (9), 6-1, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. Daniil Medvedev (3), Russia, def. Emil Ruusuvuori, Finland, 3-6, 6-7 (1),
6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-0.
WOMEN'S SINGLES
Second Round
Anna Kalinskaya, Russia, def. Arantxa Rus, Netherlands, 6-1, 7-5. Linda Noskova, Czech Republic, def. McCartney Kessler, United States, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4. Iga Swiatek (1), Poland, def. Danielle Collins, United States, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Oceane Dodin, France, def. Martina Trevisan, Italy, 6-4, 6-4. Jasmine Paolini (26), Italy, def. Tatjana Maria, Germany, 6-2, 6-3. Clara Burel, France, def. Jessica Pegula (5), United States, 6-4, 6-2. Sloane Stephens, United States, def. Daria Kasatkina
(14), Russia, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Zheng Qinwen (12), China, def. Katie Boulter, Britain, 6-3, 6-3. Elina Svitolina (19), Ukraine, def. Viktoriya Tomova, Bulgaria, 6-1,
6-3. Emma Navarro (27), United States, def. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Italy,
4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Wang Yafan, China, def. Emma Raducanu, Britain, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Viktorija Golubic, Switzerland, def. Katerina Siniakova, Czech Republic, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Dayana Yastremska, Ukraine, def. Varvara Gracheva, Russia, 6-3,
6-2. Anna Blinkova, Russia, def. Elena Rybakina (3), Kazakhstan, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (20). Jelena Ostapenko (11), Latvia, def. Ajla Tomljanovic, Australia, 6-0, 3-6, 6-4. Victoria Azarenka (18), Belarus, def. Clara Tauson, Denmark, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
BASEBALL
MLB
American League
DETROIT TIGERS:
Designated 3B Tyler Nevin for assignment. Claimed RHP Devin Sweet off waivers from San Francisco.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS:
Agreed to terms with RHPs Sthiven Benitez, Jose Cruz, Jose Mejia and Juan Rivera, LHPs Oliver Del Rosario, Nomar Jimenez, Diego Lara and Geremy Tovar, INFs Jose Cerice, Anderson Garcia, Darison Garcia, Omar Mejia, Yandel Ricardo, Marwin Rivero and Jhonayker Ugarte, OFs Robinson Chacon and Sandy Luciano and C Anthony Longo on minor league contracts.
National League
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES:
Agreed to terms with RHPs Ryan Burr, Nick Snyder and Jose Ruiz on minor league contracts.
Agreed to terms with RHP Jordan Hicks on a fouryear contract. Designated RHP Devin Sweet for assignment.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS:
BASKETBALL
NBA
Line (O/U)
91/2 (431/2) 91/2 (501/2)
61/2 (481/2) 21/2 (451/2)
Line (O/U)
61/2 (2291/2) 41/2 (238) 5 (222)
51/2 (234) 21/2 (2351/2) 61/2 (2281/2) Off (Off)
Line
1 141/2 21/2 31/2 61/2 21/2 81/2 61/2 31/2 11/2 71/2 61/2 41/2 101/2 71/2
Line
-184/+152 -200/+164 -164/+136 -240/+195
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS:
Underdog
Houston Green Bay
Tampa Bay Kansas City
Underdog
Brooklyn San Antonio at Orlando Denver Phoenix Atlanta Indiana
Underdog
at Stonehill Georgetown Niagara
Marist at C Michigan
LIU St. Louis Canisius St. Peter's at Kent St Le Moyne Wagner at Siena Indiana
UNLV
Underdog
Minnesota
Detroit at Columbus
at Chicago
Signed F Pete Nance to a 10-day contract.
FOOTBALL
NFL
BALTIMORE RAVENS:
Promoted RB Dalvin Cook from the practice squad to the active roster.
Reinstated LB James Houston from injured reserve. Waived LB Julian Okwara.
DETROIT LIONS:
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES:
Signed DTs Thomas Booker and Noah Ellis, T Le'Raven Clark, WRs Shaquan Davis, Jacob Harris Griffin Hebert and Joseph Ngata, DBs Mekhi Garner, Mario Goodrich, Tristin McCollum and Tiawan Mullen, DE Tarron Jackson, TE E.J. Jenkins, LBs Terrell Lewis and Brandon Smith, RB Lew Nichols and G Jason Poe to futures contracts for 2024.
La Quinta, Calif. a-La Quinta Country Club (Host Course) Yards: Par: b-PGA WEST Nicklaus Course
Yards: Par: c-Pete Dye Stadium Course
Yards: 7,187 Par:
Purse:
First Round
7,060
7,147
72 $8.4 million
Zach Johnson ..................... 29a-33a—62 -10 Alex Noren .......................... 31a-31a—62 -10 Christiaan Bezuidenhout ...... 32a-31a—63 -9 Rico Hoey .............................. 31b-32b—63 -9 Alexander Bjork ................... 30a-34a—64 -8 Patrick Cantlay .................... 33a-31a—64 -8 Nick Dunlap .......................... 33b-31b—64 -8 Si Woo Kim ........................... 30a-34a—64 -8 Chan Kim ............................. 32b-32b—64 -8 Justin Lower ........................ 34b-30b—64 -8 Xander Schauffele .............. 32a-32a—64 -8 Hayden Springer ................. 29c-35c—64 -8 Scott Stallings ..................... 30c-34c—64 -8 Chesson Hadley ................... 33a-32a—65 -7 Adam Hadwin ...................... 33b-32b—65 -7 Ryo Hisatsune ...................... 33a-32a—65 -7 MichaelKim ......................... 34a-31a—65-7 Kyoung-Hoon Lee ................ 33a-32a—65 -7 Min Woo Lee ........................ 31b-34b—65 -7 Mac Meissner ...................... 33c-32c—65 -7 Jimmy Stanger ..................... 34b-31b—65 -7 Justin Thomas ..................... 30a-35a—65 -7 Bronson Burgoon ................ 34c-32c—66 -6 Sam Burns ............................ 33a-33a—66 -6 Eric Cole ................................ 36c-30c—66 -6 Kevin Dougherty ................. 32a-34a—66 -6 Wilson Furr .......................... 33b-33b—66 -6 Ben Griffin ............................ 33a-33a—66 -6 Joe Highsmith ..................... 33b-33b—66 -6 Sungjae Im .......................... 32b-34b—66 -6 Ben Kohles ............................ 34a-32a—66 -6 Andrew Putnam ................. 33b-33b—66 -6 Chez Reavie .......................... 35c-31c—66 -6 Alex Smalley ....................... 33b-33b—66 -6 Alejandro Tosti ................... 34b-32b—66 -6 Erik Van Rooyen .................. 34a-32a—66 -6 Tom Whitney ........................ 35c-31c—66 -6 Kevin Yu ............................... 34b-32b—66 -6 Zac Blair ............................... 33b-34b—67 -5 Jacob Bridgeman ................ 34a-33a—67 -5 Tyler Duncan ........................ 32c-35c—67 -5 Nicolas Echavarria .............. 32a-35a—67 -5 Will Gordon .......................... 33a-34a—67 -5 Max Greyserman ............... 33b-34b—67 -5 Shane Lowry ........................ 34a-33a—67 -5 Matthew NeSmith .............. 34b-33b—67 -5 Matthieu Pavon .................. 30b-37b—67 -5 J.T. Poston ............................ 36c-31c—67 -5 Scottie Scheffler ................. 35a-32a—67 -5 Kevin Streelman .................. 34a-33a—67 -5 Davis Thompson .................. 32a-35a—67 -5 Matt Wallace ...................... 37b-30b—67 -5 Vince Whaley ....................... 33a-34a—67 -5 Erik Barnes ........................... 35a-33a—68 -4 Daniel Berger ....................... 32c-36c—68 -4 Parker Coody ....................... 35a-33a—68 -4 Joel Dahmen ........................ 33b-35b—68 -4 Cameron Davis ................... 34b-34b—68 -4 Jason Day ............................. 36a-32a—68 -4 A. Dumont De Chassart ..... 33a-35a—68 -4 Tony Finau ........................... 34a-34a—68 -4 Doug Ghim ............................ 34c-34c—68 -4 Bill Haas ............................... 34a-34a—68 -4 Seonghyeon Kim ................. 32c-36c—68 -4 Chris Kirk .............................. 35a-33a—68 -4 Ben Martin ........................... 33c-35c—68 -4 Taylor Montgomery ........... 34b-34b—68 -4 Ryan Palmer ......................... 36a-32a—68 -4 Taiga Semikawa ................. 34a-34a—68 -4 Robby Shelton .................... 36b-32b—68 -4 Ben Silverman ..................... 33a-35a—68 -4 Nick Taylor .......................... 35b-33b—68 -4 Josh Teater .......................... 35b-33b—68 -4 Jhonattan Vegas ................. 33c-35c—68 -4 Carl Yuan ............................. 32b-36b—68 -4 Will Zalatoris ....................... 36c-32c—68 -4 Joseph Bramlett ................. 35b-34b—69 -3 Jason Dufner ........................ 36b-33b—69 -3 Austin Eckroat .................... 34b-35b—69 -3 Patrick Fishburn .................. 34c-35c—69 -3 James Hahn .......................... 33c-36c—69 -3 Garrick Higgo ....................... 35c-34c—69 -3 Charley Hoffman ................. 32a-37a—69 -3 Tom Hoge .............................. 34a-35a—69 -3 Beau Hossler ........................ 34c-35c—69 -3 Stephan Jaeger .................... 33b-36b—69 -3 Tom Kim ............................... 35b-34b—69 -3 Martin Laird ......................... 34c-35c—69 -3 Keith Mitchell ..................... 35b-34b—69 -3 John Pak ................................ 35a-34a—69 -3 Aaron Rai .............................. 34a-35a—69 -3 Sam Ryder ............................ 35c-34c—69 -3 Matti Schmid ...................... 35b-34b—69 -3 DavidSkinns ........................ 34c-35c—69-3 CamiloVillegas ................... 35c-34c—69-3 Dylan Wu ............................. 35b-34b—69 -3 Brandon Wu ......................... 34a-35a—69 -3
At Lake Nona Golf & Country Club Orlando, Fla.
Purse:
Yardage:
First Round
$1.5 million
6,608;
Par:
Ayaka Furue ............................. 33-32—65 -7 Gaby Lopez ............................... 36-31—67 -5 Maja Stark ................................ 33-34—67 -5 Ally Ewing ................................. 33-35—68 -4 Danielle Kang ........................... 35-33—68 -4 Ashleigh Buhai ......................... 37-32—69 -3 Brooke Henderson .................. 36-33—69 -3 Grace Kim ................................. 34-35—69 -3 Lydia Ko .................................... 35-34—69 -3 Andrea Lee ............................... 35-34—69 -3 Alexa Pano ............................... 35-34—69 -3 Rose Zhang .............................. 36-33—69 -3 Gemma Dryburgh .................... 35-35—70 -2 Nasa Hataoka ........................... 37-33—70 -2 Megan Khang ............................ 35-35—70 -2 Cheyenne Knight ...................... 34-36—70 -2 Jennifer Kupcho ....................... 33-37—70 -2 Marina Alex ............................... 34-37—71 -1 Nelly Korda ................................ 34-37—71 -1 Hae-Ran Ryu ............................. 35-36—71 -1 Lilia Vu ....................................... 38-33—71 -1 Pajaree Anannarukarn ............. 34-38—72 E Leona Maguire ........................... 38-34—72 E Jodi Ewart Shadoff ................ 35-38—73 +1 Linn Grant ................................. 37-36—73 +1 Chanettee Wannasaen .......... 36-37—73 +1 Amy Yang ................................. 36-37—73 +1 In Gee Chun ............................. 36-38—74 +2 Allisen Corpuz ......................... 39-35—74 +2 Charley Hull ............................ 38-36—74 +2 Nanna Koerstz Madsen .......... 37-37—74 +2 Mone Inami ............................. 39-36—75 +3 Paula Reto ................................ 37-38—75 +3 Ruoning Yin ............................. 35-40—75 +3 Elizabeth Szokol ..................... 38-39—77 +5
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONSMITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CHAMPIONSHIP
At Hualalai GC, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Purse:
Yardage:
First Round
$2 million
7,107;
72
72
Par:
72
72
Steven Alker ............................. 35-30—65 -7 Vijay Singh ................................ 31-34—65 -7 K.J. Choi .................................... 34-32—66 -6 Ernie Els .................................... 33-33—66 -6 Brett Quigley ........................... 34-32—66 -6 Steve Stricker .......................... 32-34—66 -6 Stewart Cink ............................ 35-32—67 -5 Ken Duke ................................... 35-32—67 -5 Harrison Frazar ....................... 33-34—67 -5 Mark Hensby ............................ 34-33—67 -5 Rocco Mediate ......................... 32-35—67 -5 Scott Parel ............................... 35-32—67 -5 Lee Janzen ................................ 33-35—68 -4 Bernhard Langer ..................... 34-34—68 -4 Justin Leonard ......................... 34-34—68 -4 David Toms ............................... 33-35—68 -4 Mike Weir ................................. 35-33—68 -4 Paul Broadhurst ...................... 36-33—69 -3 Alex Cejka ................................. 33-36—69 -3 Jay Haas .................................... 35-34—69 -3 Jerry Kelly ................................. 36-33—69 -3 Colin Montgomerie ................. 34-35—69 -3 Stephen Ames .......................... 37-33—70 -2 Fred Couples ............................. 35-35—70 -2 Marco Dawson .......................... 36-34—70 -2 Stephen Dodd ........................... 38-32—70 -2 Miguel Angel Jimenez ............. 35-35—70 -2 Mark O'Meara ........................... 36-34—70 -2 Dicky Pride ................................ 34-36—70 -2