Cody’s Wish, Saratoga – Photo Credit Coglianese Photo
Cody’s Wish, his Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, and breeder/owner Godolphin were the brightest stars at the Eclipse Awards on Thursday night, combing for five championship trophies, including the top award for Horse of Year and Older Dirt Male, as well as top trainer, owner, and breeder.
Mott also trains of Elite Power, the Eclipse Award winner as champion Male Sprinter, and Just F Y I, champion 2-Year-Old Filly.
Godolphin added a fifth Eclipse Award as owners of champion 3-Year-Old Filly Pretty Mischievous.
Arcangelo, winner of the Belmont Stakes (G1) and the Travers (G1) was voted champion 3-Year-Old Male by a huge margin – 193-21 – over Auguste Rodin. Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage received 1 first-place vote.
Fierceness, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, was voted champion 2-Year-Old Male.
These Eclipse Awards turned into a celebration of Cody’s Wish, the 5-year-old named by Godolphin for Cody Dorman, who was born with a rare genetic disorder. He bonded with the horse a few years ago, attended the Breeders’ Cup with his parents when the horse won a second BC Dirt Mile, and sadly died the next day on the trip home to Kentucky.
Kelly Dorman, Cody’s dad, took the podium to accept the award.
Referring to a line by Tom Hanks in the movie “A League of Their Own,’’ Dorman said in an emotional speech: “Never tell Tom Hanks there’s no crying in horse racing.”
Cody’s Wish (134 first-place votes) easily outpointed Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner White Abarrio (37) — who defeated Cody’s Wish in the Whitney (G1) — and champion Older Dirt Female Idiomatic (21) in Horse of the Year voting.
The son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin won four of five races in 2023 – the Churchill Downs (G1), the Met Mile (G1), the Vosburgh (G2), and a dramatic triumph over Preakness (G1) winner National Treasure in the BC Dirt Mile.
Mott, who didn’t win the most races or earn the most money with his stable in 2023, won many of the biggest races, topped by three wins at the Breeders’ Cup. Mott totaled 132 votes; Brad Cox was second with 60. In winning his first Eclipse since 2011 (and fourth overall), Mott has the best year of his half-century as a trainer with $17.4 million in earnings.
Arcangelo, who was scratched from the BC Classic days before the race with a minor foot issue, was trained by Jena Antonucci, who became the first female to win a Triple Crown race.
Irad Otiz, Jr., won his fifth Eclipse Award as top jockey for the fifth time in the past six years. The 31-year-old rider led the nation in earnings with over $39 million and in wins with 366. He won 15 Grade 1s aboard the likes of White Abarrio, Elite Power, Goodnight Olive, and Up to the Mark.
Eclipse Award voting is done by members of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), the Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB).
2023 Eclipse Award winners
Horse of the Year: Cody’s Wish
2-Year-Old Male: Fierceness
2-Year-Old Filly: Just FYI
3-Year-Old Male: Arcangelo
3-Year-Old Filly: Pretty Mischievous
Older Dirt Male: Cody’s Wish
Older Dirt Female: Idiomatic
Male Sprinter: Elite Power
Female Sprinter: Goodnight Olive
Male Turf Horse: Up to the Mark
Female Turf Horse: Inspiral (GB)
Steeplechase Horse: Merry Maker (IRE)
Owner: Godolphin, LLC
Breeder: Godolphin, LLC
Trainer: Bill Mott
Jockey: Irad Ortiz, Jr.
Apprentice Jockey: Axel Concepcion