Godolphin’s Kentucky hybrid house Cody’s Wish played solo 5/8 in 1:02.81 July 23 on the Oklahoma dirt track in preparation for the nine-stage $1 million Whitney Stakes (G1) tournament on Aug. Racecourse Saratoga.
Coached by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, 5 year old boy make for curly fly was flown by assistant coach Neil Poznansky, who guided reigning Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winners through divisions of: 26 2/5 and: 38 2/5 before galloping in 1:15 1/5, 1:27 1/5 and 1:41 3/5.
“He just let go of the reins and picked it up right away,” Mott said.
Cody’s Wish, a 9-time winner from 13 starts, enters Whitney with a 6 win streak led by scores in the Forego (G1) in August at Saratoga, the Dirt Mile in November at KeenelandChurchill Downs (G1) in May and Metropolitan Handicap (G1) on 10 June at Belmont Park. He will look to claim his first win at more than a mile, while also starting his first nine distances since finishing third in the first tilt at Saratoga in July 2021.
Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) winner and Juddmonte nam men’s sprint champion elite power ran the half-mile alone on: 51:15 Sunday on the Oklahoma training track to prepare for the $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) six-stage match on July 29 at Spa.
The 5-year-old Curlin has won seven straight starts since her nine-month first outing last June at Churchill en route to scoring in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November in Keeneland, the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G3) in February at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia and the True North (G2) taking place on 10 June in Belmont.
Elite Power was easily opened by the chronograph at: 24 and changed by NYRA timers on Sunday in a breeze that Mott points out is similar to a chestnut half-mile job at: 51 May, October 28 on Oklahoma before his Breeders’ Cup coup.
“It was him alone,” Mott said. “He’s done those jobs well right before his race. He did it in Saudi Arabia. He worked at 51 before winning the Breeders’ Cup. He’s not going to impress anyone when he’s working alone.”
Frank Fletcher Racing Operations ‘Purebred Kentucky Frank’s rocket will exit 2nd place to Junior Alvarado on July 26 with a $200,000 prize for Miss Handicap Honor (G2), a six-stage sprint for runners and mares.
6 year old into naughty bay finished second behind Kimari in this event last year—one of three attempts to finish second in Spa graded shares for Frank’s Rockette along with a 2020 Prioress (G2) win.
Frank’s Rockette is a perfect 2-on-2 game this season, weathering Hurricane Bertie (G3) in March at Gulfstream Park and Roxelana in April at Churchill Downs in which she placed many of the best graded bets The last leaf with graded stake winners beautiful bird in third place.
“She’s always run pretty well,” says Mott. “We skipped a race or two that we could have entered if we were so eager to run. She’s run well in this race and has run well on this track before.”
The compact four-horse Miss Honor field includes the 2021 champion, 2 years old Echo of Zulu , who is unbeaten in two starts at Spa; and classified bet winners Mary is the complete opposite And Dr. B .
The Kentucky Cross of LNJ Foxwoods Scotland won a career-best 107 ESF for his 3/4 long score in a restricted Curlin match on July 21 at Spa, winning both the stakes and a two-legged debut in style.
Mott said 10 furlong Travers (G1) worth $1.25 million on August 26 could be a Scotland target.
“He’s come back well. We’ll talk about relationships, but I want to think about Travers,” Mott said.
This press release has been edited by BloodHorse Staff for content and style.
