By Bill Finley
The tale of Cody's Wish (Curlin) and his association with Cody Dorman continues to be a powerful, feel-good story for the sport of racing. Cody's Wish was named for Dorman, a young man who suffers from Wolf-Hirschorn Syndrome, and the horse's six-race winning streak has brought joy to Dorman and his family.
Wade Jost knows just how the Dormans feel.
The first race at Saratoga Saturday was won by Carson's Run (Cupid), who is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Steven Bouchey. The 2-year-old colt was named after Carson Jost, 30, who also suffers from Wolf-Hirschorn Syndrome, a chromosomal deletion syndrome resulting from a partial deletion on the short arm of chromosome 4. Features include a distinct craniofacial features, delayed growth and development, intellectual disability, and seizures.
Jost's father, Wade, is a co-owner of the horse through West Point and was classmate of Finley at the U.S. Military Academy.
“I get emotional talking about this,” Jost said. “We were overwhelmed. We weren't expecting that. That the horse performed the way he did was phenomenal.”
West Point Thoroughbreds' Terry Finley and jockey Dylan Davis | Sarah K. Andrew
Finley and Jost had stayed close since their West Point days and the two had conversations at the annual Army-Navy game about the possibility of West Point naming a horse after Carson. Finley told Jost he would find a horse for him and did just that at this year's OBS April sale, where he purchased Carson's Run for $170,000.
“I've talked to him for the last couple of years and he said `I really want to get a horse for our boy Carson,' and over the years, he's had a lot of challenges and has really been an inspiration to all of us,” Finley said. “And when we bought this horse, it all just came together. I said, `I think I need to call Wade,' and I did and he said, `I'm in. Whatever you need me to do.'”
Carson is Wade's oldest child and has three siblings. None of the other children in the family suffer from Wolf-Hirschorn Syndrome. According to a story posted on West Point's website, Jost served in the Gulf War, and was conceived and born shortly after Wade returned home. According to the West Point report, it was later determined that members of Wade's unit in the Army had a high rate of abnormal births with their kids born after they returned from the war. The fathers and children were put into a study group to try to determine the cause. Ultimately the results were inconclusive, but the Gulf War has been a proven link to many multi-symptomatic disorders in hundreds of thousands of U.S. veterans who served.
The Jost family gathered in front of a television set Saturday in their home in Washington State. Making his first career start, Carson's Run was sent off at 5-1 and was ridden by Dylan Davis. Trained by Christophe Clement, the two-year-old was sixth early on in the mile-and-a-sixteenth turf race and took control inside the final furlong to win by a neck.
“No. Carson has the mental capacity of about a one-year-old,” Wade Jost said when asked if Carson understood that a horse named for him was running. “We put him right in front of the TV and when the race took off he really got animated. It was kind of cool. He doesn't usually get all that animated, so it was neat to watch him do that.”
“We run a lot of horses but this was extra special,” Finley said. “Wade and I have been friends for a long time. It was very, very cool.”
While Cody Dorman has seen several of Cody's Wish's race in person, Carson Jost has yet to meet his namesake. Wade Jost said he hopes that will soon change.
“We would love to come for one of his races,” Jost said. “We found out just last week he was going to race today and we need more lead time than that. It is our plan to try to make it out.”
Jost said he first became aware of the Cody Dorman story while watching this year's GI Kentucky Derby broadcast on NBC. Cody's Wish ran on the Derby undercard, winning the GI Churchill Downs S.
“When we decided to do this early in the spring with Carson I hadn't known anything about Cody's Wish,” Jost said. “I sat down to watch the Kentucky Derby and saw the story about Cody come on. As soon as I saw Cody I knew before they even said anything about Wolf-Hirschorn Syndrome that Carson and Cody had the same thing. The similarities and facial features is just overwhelming.”
Both Jost and Finley said they didn't want their story to compete with the story of Cody's Wish or do anything to deflect from the attention the horse and the Dorman family has received. There was no need to worry. Within minutes of the finish of the race, Finley received a text from Kelly Dorman, Cody's father, congratulating him on the victory.
Winner's circle celebrations following Carson's Run's maiden win at Saratoga on Saturday | Sarah K. Andrew
“I didn't want anybody to think we were trying to copy Cody's Wish and their story,” Finley said. “I got a beautiful text from Cody's father Kelly after the race. He had introduced himself to me at the Belmont. He said that he saw me saw me at the Breeders' Cup (where Flightline (Tapit), co-owned by West Point, won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic) and noted how emotional I was. It was very moving for me. I I told him how much I admired how they had handled the story of Cody and how it was very inspiring.”
“We will be reaching out to the Dorman family,” Jost said. “I didn't want to take away from the great story that is Cody's Wish. So I was happy that they reached out. We will get together. I look forward to that.”
Finley said that Carson's Run's next start would likely come in the GIII With Anticipation S. on Aug. 31 at Saratoga.
Maybe the Jost family can make it for that race. Win or lose, the presence of Cody's Run will make the With Anticipation a race worth following. It looks like Carson's Run is a good horse who will have a good chance of picking up a graded stakes win. A good horse and a great story.
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