Liberto Beating the Odds With Capo Kane

No one can fault Leonard Liberto for running at top speed for cover at the slightest hint of lightning.

As much as the odds of being struck by a bolt from the sky are about 500,000-1, Liberto has probably exceeded those odds lately during his involvement as an owner of Thoroughbred racehorses.

Consider the odds of this:

You have a small stable of between zero and three horses for the last 22 years. Your last stakes win was in 2010. 

Then, all of sudden, in a span of a little more than a year, into your life comes a horse who runs in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) and places in major grade 1 and grade 2 stakes for 3-year-olds, followed months later by the winner of a New York prep race for the Kentucky Derby.

Plus, the Kentucky Derby starter was purchased for $22,000 and was bred in New York. The 2021 hopeful was acquired for $26,000 and is a California-bred.

"Succeeding at the highest level of this sport is not easy, especially when you have only a few horses. It can be nearly impossible, but it can be done," Liberto said. "But above all, we're having fun. That's the key, and we're not spending a lot of money doing it. It can be an expensive hobby."

Oh, and each time, Liberto originally passed on buying into the horse, but then relented after some arm-twisting by a friend.

What are the odds of all that happening?

Maybe 500,000-1, or more?

Perhaps now it's clear why Liberto would be wise to adopt such a cautious attitude when he hears rumblings in the sky.

That's also the backstory behind the California-bred Capo Kane, who has stirred Kentucky Derby dreams for Liberto and his ownership partner, Anthony Como of Bing Cherry Racing, heading into the Feb. 6 $250,000 Withers Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The son of Street Sense  is the 3-1 second-choice in a field of nine and is coming off an auspicious stakes debut when he captured the one-mile Jan. 1 Jerome Stakes by 6 1/4 lengths and picked up 10 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby.

"It's a very exciting endeavor," said the 68-year-old Liberto, an original owner of the aforementioned Kentucky Derby starter Ny Traffic. "It's a little stressful, too. Along with the excitement comes some stress. You hope you're doing the right thing by running him in these races, but we're confident we are. He belongs in the Withers."

The morning line paints Capo Kane as one of the horses to beat in the Withers, but in reality he's much closer to a David than a Goliath in the 1 1/8-mile stakes.

Capo Kane was first spotted by Como as part of the Paul Sharp consignment at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. Como approached Liberto about buying him in a 50-50 partnership.

Liberto said thanks, but no thanks.

"I told Anthony I had enough horses," Liberto said.

As it turned out, fortunately for Liberto, Como continued to push Liberto to join him and the New Jersey resident finally agreed.

A winning $26,000 bid later, they had a colt who was sent to trainer Harold Wyner at Parx Racing and broke his maiden Nov. 25 at Parx by 4 1/2 lengths at one mile and 70 yards. In his next start, he romped in front-running fashion in the Jerome to ignite Kentucky Derby dreams that could be fanned even higher in the Withers.

"Horse racing can be like a chess match," Liberto said. "You sometimes have to know your next two moves in advance. We could have shipped to Florida because the weather is so much better, but we both wanted to stay here in New York and give Harry a chance to show his true colors as a Kentucky Derby trainer. Everybody thinks it's an easy path going through New York, but, hey, I'll take any path. The path of least resistance works for me to get to the Kentucky Derby. If it means shipping to California or Louisiana, we'll do it. Right now it's the Withers for us, but we have a long way to go even though the Kentucky Derby isn't that far away."

In Wyner's eyes, Capo Kane is coming into the Withers on edge for another strong effort.

"The Jerome didn't seem to take anything out of him. He went right back on his feed, and he seems fresh and ready," said Wyner, who, like Como and Liberto, will try to notch his first graded stakes win Saturday. "He's gotten stronger and stronger. When he won the Jerome I was very impressed. I was very confident going into the race, but I didn't expect him to win by 6 1/4 lengths like he did. The two turns Saturday won't bother him. He's bred for it with Street Sense and a Hard Spun  mare (Twirl Me)."

In tackling graded stakes company for the first time, Team Capo Kane will find themselves up against a higher level of competition, the likes of which they will not find at Parx on a regular basis. Their $26,000 colt will be facing rivals priced at $1 million and $240,000 from owners such as Coolmore and Klaravich Stables and trainers Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown, who have combined for 11 Eclipse Awards.

The price on the toteboard will say Capo Kane has a big shot, but his connections are surely the little guys in the grade 3 stakes worth 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby points to the top four finishers.

"It's nice when you can spend $1 million or $3 million on a horse and try to get to the Kentucky Derby, but it doesn't happen every day with a $26,000 horse," Liberto said. "You never know what can happen in this game. It's all about a horse having a heart to perform."

Being the little guys, Liberto and Como also find themselves in the position of fielding numerous calls from people interested in buying a stake in Capo Kane, including some from California where the colt was bred. Liberto understands the dynamics of what is taking place and says for now, there is not a "For Sale" sticker on Capo Kane.

"You get calls from people looking to get involved. They'll give you 'X' amount of dollars for 'X' amount in the horse, but my partner and I, I can't say we don't need the money, but I look at it this way: There are people who have nice horses like this one who they wouldn't even think about calling and asking if they want to sell because they know those guys have deep pockets. They always call the guys they think will sell, but right now my partner and I are not willing to sell. 

"We're holding out for the bigger money," he added with a laugh.

Ironically, Liberto sold his share of Ny Traffic before the career of the New York-bred son of Cross Traffic  took off.

Ny Traffic, now a 4-year-old, was also acquired at the Midlantic sale, when John Fanelli asked Liberto in 2019 to join him in buying the gray colt. Liberto, as he did with Capo Kane, declined at first but finally gave in and entered in a 50-50 deal with him.

Though Ny Traffic did not attain his reserve when the hammer fell for $27,000, Liberto says Fanelli worked out a deal to buy the 2-year-old for $22,000.

Capo Kane also had a RNA in his history as he failed to sell at the 2020 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training for $87,000.

"I don't know if buying a RNA is the secret to success, but it's certainly the cheaper way," said Liberto, who has 486 starts and 77 wins for earnings of $1.3 million with horses under his own name.

Sent to Wyner, Ny Traffic won his second start and about a month later, he was fifth in the Notebook Stakes for 2-year-old New York-breds at Aqueduct. When plans for the winter were discussed, Fanelli wanted to send him to his trainer in Florida, Saffie Joseph Jr. Liberto understood the logic, but wanted to race in the Northeast so he sold his 50% share to Fanelli, who brought in new partners.

With Joseph, Ny Traffic was second in the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) to Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of the Year Authentic  and also second in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) and eighth in the Run for the Roses while earning $494,900 as a 3-year-old. 

Liberto has never regretted selling Ny Traffic.

"I rooted for Ny Traffic every time he ran after the sale," Liberto said. "I was his biggest fan."

That sale, however, must no doubt resonate with Liberto when he fields offers for Capo Kano and hopes there's another Kentucky Derby start in the future.

"Maybe lightning can strike twice," Liberto said, whose last stakes winner before Capo Kane was Love Ridge in the 2010 Roanoke Stakes at Philadelphia Park (now Parx).

Capo Kane, who has his own website (www.capokane.com), is one of just two horses in training owned by Liberto, who operates a concrete and asphalt construction company in Ewing Township, N.J. The other is Lynard, who is winless in 10 starts and was entered by Wyner in a Feb. 5 $7,500 maiden claimer at Penn National Race Course.

Liberto said he named the Khozan  gelding after himself with a mix of a tribute to a famous rock group.

"I should have never named him after me," Liberto said. "Now I can't get rid of him."

Liberto's holdings also include a 25% share of the new Pennsylvania stallion Pat On the Back.

He also has two mares in Fatal Flashback, who is in foal to Desert Party, and Chic Bella, who will be bred to Pat On the Back later this year.

He also has a pair of 2-year-old New York State-bred fillies, Midmon, by Midshipman , and Alarra, by Alpha, who are being prepared for their racing careers with Lynn Ashby.

It's surely a modest stable, yet with Capo Kane there may be some big things awaiting Liberto on the horizon, and if there are, he knows what he'll do next.

"If we make the Kentucky Derby," Liberto said. "Then I'll do something else 'easy,' like climb Mt. Everest."