May The Odds Ever Be In Your Favor

Though Capozzo is new to the breeding scene, he's not new to overcoming the odds. Because his original owner couldn't afford the stake payments, Capozzo wasn't staked as a 2 or 3-year-old. He raced at 2, took a very respectable mark of 1:54.1 at Yonkers, and picked up a check in 6 of 8 starts. In anticipation of his sophomore campaign, Capozzo's new connections pursued an appeal to the Board of the New York Gaming Commission, though it was determined that the previous owner failed to make the stakes eligibility payments on time and their appeal was denied. That'd be a deal-breaker for the majority of horses in amassing hundreds of thousands of dollars in their career, but not Capozzo. He still paced to a 3-year-old mark of 1:50.2 and banked just shy of $100,000 that year.

Despite "doing it the hard way" in overnight races, Capozzo earned well over $600,000 in his career, which one might argue is even more impressive than doing it in a select number of stakes races. It certainly says something about his durability and perseverance. 

While racking up almost three quarters of a million dollars to his name, Capozzo took a mark of 1:48 and visited the Winner's Circle 39 times, making him the fastest and winningest stallion standing in Minnesota. "Capozzo is the spitting image of his father, Bettor's Delight. He was extremely determined with wicked raw speed and never backed down from a fight," says his former trainer Mark Capone. These words ring true in watching Capozzo win any which way, including big first over moves, on any size track. He beat some of the sport's best including Bit of A Legend N ($2,569,621), Doctor Butch ($1,665,093), Fort Knox ($261,256), Odds On Equuleus ($935,816), and Stevensville ($529,929)

 So while he had every excuse to be just an average racehorse, Capozzo's grit and tenacity were on display as he made big things happen over his illustrious career. And isn't that what we want in racehorses? What we strive for as breeders? To produce one that will overcome the odds despite substantial adversity?

Capozzo is standing at Bluff Country Equine in Winona, MN for $2,000. You can find Capozzo on his website, Facebook page, and USTA's STARS.