ARCADIA, Calif. – The inspirational story of Cody’s Wish and his connection to a young man with a rare genetic disorder will have its final chapter written – at least on the racetrack – Saturday when Cody’s Wish seeks a repeat victory in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, the final start of his career, at Santa Anita. Cody’s Wish developed a bond with Cody Dorman, a teenager who suffers from a rare genetic disorder Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, that has confined him to a wheelchair. Dorman and his family were in attendance at last year’s Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland and they will be there again on Saturday. “It’s already had a fairy-tale ending,” Mott said. “Up until now I think things have gone well. We all realize – and I’m sure Cody Dorman even realizes – horses can get beat and anything can happen. We’re hoping for a win and we’re hoping for a great ending; it would be the icing on the cake if he could win on Saturday.” :: Breeders' Cup Shop: DRF Past Performances available now Cody’s Wish will face just six rivals in the Dirt Mile, which goes as the first of nine Breeders’ Cup races to be run Saturday, 11:30 a.m. post Pacific time. The Dirt Mile attracted 15 pre-entrants, but with many cross-entered in other races, the race drew on Monday with nine horses. Tragically, Practical Move, the Grade 1 Santa Anita winner, suffered a fatal cardiovascular collapse on the track Tuesday morning during training. Algiers, the runner-up in the Dubai World Cup, was withdrawn from consideration Tuesday due to an issue with his right front foot, assistant trainer Ed Crisford said. After Cody’s Wish failed to see out nine furlongs in the Grade 1 Whitney, Mott cut him back in distance to seven furlongs in the Grade 2 Vosburgh at Aqueduct, a race he won in workmanlike fashion by 1 1/2 lengths. “He was drawing away from his competition as he approached the wire the last sixteenth of a mile,” Mott said. “He was a little closer to a slow pace than he normally is. I don’t think it was such a hard race that it took too much out of him. I think he should have gained something from it.” Cody’s Wish will break from post 2 under Junior Alvarado. The pace in the Dirt Mile could be interesting. Zozos looks to be the main speed in the race, but horses like Charge It and the Preakness winner, National Treasure, figure to be forward as well. Zozos, trained by Brad Cox, is 3 for 3 at a mile, though none of those wins have come in a true two-turn configuration like what awaits him on Saturday. “We’re going to break running. I think that gives us our best opportunity to get there,” Cox said. “Break, go forward, try to establish our position. I’m hoping we get a nice, tight racetrack.” In his lone defeat in his last five starts, Zozos didn’t appear to be handling the surface at Monmouth Park in the Grade 3 Philip Iselin Stakes, where he finished sixth. “Florent said he didn’t take to that racetrack. It was too deep for him that particular day,” Cox said. “His works leading up to this have been really, really good. I think he’s ready to run a big race. If he can handle the two turns and get comfortable out there going up the backside he’ll be tough.” Charge It has won graded stakes at one mile – see the Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes in 2022 – and at 1 1/4 miles as he did in the Grade 2 Suburban in July. He comes out of fourth-place finishes in the Whitney and Woodward, and is now cutting back to a mile. “We were trying to figure out which race he might have the best chance of getting the kind of trip that he wants,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “We feel like that trip is when he can get into a good cruising speed in the clear. We haven’t been able to achieve that the last couple of times. “When you look at the pace scenario of the two races, surprisingly, to me, on paper the Dirt Mile looks like it has less pace than the Classic,” Pletcher added. Pletcher is removing blinkers from Charge It’s equipment for the Dirt Mile. “With these older horses, equipment change sometimes adds a little spark to them,” Pletcher said. National Treasure, trained by Bob Baffert, won the Preakness when he was hustled to the front from the rail in a seven-horse field. Saturday, he will likely be hustled to the front by Flavien Prat from the outside post in what is now a seven-horse field. Baffert said he decided to point to the Breeders’ Cup based on National Treasure’s recent training following his fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Awesome Again on Sept. 30. “In the Awesome Again, he didn’t get away well, he was farther back, he made a run, and then he flattened out,” Baffert said. “Then all of a sudden he’s coming back around. The work [two back] he worked really, really well and [Sunday’s] work was really good. He just needs to get away from the gate.” Stage Raider, a half-brother to Triple Crown winner Justify, and Skippylongstocking don’t figure to be too far off the pace. Stage Raider, trained by Cherie DeVaux, is coming off a runner-up finish to Zozos in the Grade 3 Ack Ack at Churchill Downs, where Zozos controlled things up front. “Hopefully, the speed will go and we’ll sit in a good position,” DeVaux said. “He’s proven around two turns and in this form cycle, he seems to be getting better with each start.” Skippylongstocking is coming off a front-running win in the Charles Town Classic, defeating his Saffie Joseph-trained stablemate O’Connor, who came back to win last weekend’s Grade 3 Fayette Stakes. Skippylongstocking’s three best races have come when he’s been close or on the lead. Shirl’s Bee, is 1 for 3 in his career and looks way overmatched on paper. He is trained by Dallas Stewart, who has been known to pull a surprise or two in major stakes. This would rank right up there. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.