Each time they met, the strapping horse, who was aggressive and unruly in the starting gate, would lay his head on Cody’s lap, acting more like a poodle than a Thoroughbred. Cody followed his horse all the way to California for his last race, in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, in the fall of 2023. There was a fairytale ending to the racing portion of the story when Cody’s Wish won the race by a nose and had to withstand a stewards’ inquiry that could have disqualified him. Cody’s Wish retired a winner, and Cody looked forward to visiting him at Jonabell Farm, where Godolphin’s stallions live.
The day after that race, while flying home to Kentucky, Cody laid his head on his mother’s shoulder, fell asleep and never woke up, sending shockwaves through the horse racing world and beyond. His parents, Leslie and Kelly, and little sister, Kylie, have resolved themselves to the fact that just as Cody’s Wish’s work on the track was done, Cody’s work was also finished.
In Cody's Wish: A Boy, a Racehorse, and a Fight for Life, the only book authorized by the Dormans, readers are given an up-close look at the mountain of challenges Cody faced and the incalculable resiliency with which he met them. It is a compelling story of the bond between a boy who was saddened by not having any friends and the one he found on a horse farm in Kentucky, which changed his life in a way neither he nor his parents could have ever dreamed.
Paul Halloran, a 40-year journalist and communications professional who writes for The Saratoga Special, Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Magazine and thisishorseracing.com, first came upon the Cody’s Wish story when covering the Forego Stakes at Saratoga in August 2022. He developed an immediate connection with Cody’s parents and approached them with the idea for a book at the beginning of 2023. They quickly agreed and Paul started researching the book, traveling with the family to races in Kentucky, New York and California and seeing first-hand the profound impact of this special boy and special horse.
Cody's Wish: A Boy, a Racehorse, and a Fight for Life will be published by Lyons Press. It is expected to be out in the first half of 2026. Paul Halloran can be reached at pkhcomm@gmail.com