Devoted Blackjack players are quite aware of Blazing Sevens.
It's a progressive side bet in which a player bets say, $5, and gets a payoff if one of their cards is a 7. The payoff increases if the player has two 7s, and it jumps even higher if the dealer is showing a 7 as well.
Then the payouts zoom into the stratosphere if the three 7s match in color or suit.
There are certainly long odds stacked against hitting the jackpot, but Carla Capek has managed to collect it on three occasions.
"It's one of my wife's luckiest bets," said John Capek, who has not been as fortunate as his wife at the gaming tables when it comes to Blazing Sevens.
In the world of horse racing, Blazing Sevens is a newer entity that has already returned a ritzy payoff for the Capeks, and there could be a rather lucrative progression payoff this weekend.
On the racetrack, Blazing Sevens is a 2-year-old colt by Good Magic owned by the Capeks through their Rodeo Creek Racing and trained by Chad Brown. He is one of the top contenders in the $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1) Nov. 4 at Keeneland.
Though he's the 6-1 third choice in the morning line, Blazing Sevens is coming off a 3 1/4-length victory in the Champagne Stakes (G1) at Aqueduct Racetrack and, as a son of the 2017 Juvenile winner should be well suited by the two turns he will navigate for the first time.
"We're looking forward to Friday," said John Capek, a sales manager for Abbott Laboratories who lives in Illinois. "Blazing Sevens continues to progress and he's doing great. His sire handled two turns in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and we're hoping he can as well."
Considering how the Capeks have about a dozen horses and Blazing Sevens hails from just the second group trained by Brown and bought by bloodstock agent Peter Bradley on their behalf, it would seem as if Carla's luck at the blackjack table has trickled down to the racing operation. Winning a grade 1 stakes before a stable's 25th start is surely a stroke of good fortune.
Yet luck alone does not explain their success story.
"I believe you make your own luck, and John and Carla are successful through being good people and being smart. They are brilliant, big-hearted people that I've learned a lot from," Brown said. "They deserve to have some success right away. They have been a pleasure to train for. They love horse racing and the horses.
"They are very compassionate about animals. In my opinion, they have the right approach to the sport and the horses. They are patient. They understand there might not be good phone calls. We've had to stop on horses, and the discussion has always been what do we have to do to help the horse and get him better."
John Capek, 60, grew up in Troy, N.Y., not far from Brown's hometown of Mechanicville. He has been a horse racing fan since his youth, and became an owner about 14 years ago when he bought a share of some horses with trainer Ken McPeek's Magdalena Racing. Included in that group of runners was House of Grace, who ran third in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
He took a break after a few years and in 2020, through a mutual acquaintance (Dan Pickett), he had lunch with Brown and began mapping out plans to re-enter the business through buying a few yearlings.
For Brown, step one in the process was introducing them to Bradley to serve as their agent.
"I thought they would be a good match with Pete," the four-time Eclipse Award winner said. "They bought a diverse group of horses through Pete and gave themselves a good chance for success, buying turf and dirt horses. Pete has provided some valuable counsel in setting them up."
The first group produced only three starts and two seconds as 2-year-olds in 2021, but the Capeks stuck with the plan for a second round of yearlings and were rewarded with Blazing Sevens.
"This is the second round we've gone through and they learned about all the pitfalls in the first one," Bradley said of the Capeks, whose cumulative totals with Rodeo Creek are four wins from 23 starts with earnings of $645,363. "We had a couple of nice winning horses, but nothing like this with Blazing Sevens. They learned it's not an easy game but they had great patience and are having a much better time now."
Bred by Tracy Farmer out of Good Magic, who won the Juvenile as a maiden for Brown and was the champion 2-year-old male of 2017, Blazing Sevens is out of the Warrior's Reward mare Trophy Girl. He was purchased for $225,000 from the Eaton Sales consignment at the Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's New York Sale of Select Yearlings. The second of four foals from Trophy Girl and her first runner, he was originally bought by Chestnut Valley Farm for $140,000 from the Denali Stud consignment at the 2021 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale.
"Blazing Sevens had the frame and physique," Bradley said. "Funny enough, we looked at him as a weanling and contemplated pinhooking him for another group, but he was outside our price point. Then he went from good to better between a weanling and a yearling. He was early in the sale at Saratoga and I was happy with the price because he was an 'A' physical. He's a big, scopey horse and two turns looks what he really wants. The dream is alive right now, for sure. His graph is going the right way."
Blazing Sevens made his debut July 24 at Saratoga Race Course and dashed to a 6 1/4-length victory. He returned in the Hopeful Stakes (G1) on a sloppy track and finished a disappointing third, 12 lengths behind the victorious Forte , the 4-1 second choice in the Juvenile.
A month later, the bad memories of the Hopeful were washed away when Blazing Sevens rallied from sixth and rolled to a 3 1/4-length victory in the Oct. 1 Champagne Stakes (G1) on a sloppy track at Aqueduct, claiming a free "Win and You're In" spot in the Breeders' Cup and becoming the initial grade 1 winner for his first-crop sire.
"To break his maiden in a demonstrative way at Saratoga was great," John Capek said. "He had a challenge in the slop at Saratoga but it was great to see him come back, even if it was a different track, and win under similar weather conditions. The first grade 1 was really exciting. I was a little nervous when he came out and was lagging toward the back, but he finally got his footing and then raced great. Peter Bradley does a great job of identifying the horses. Sitting with him at a sale talking about horses to bid on has been a thrill, and working with Chad has been a lot of fun. He does such a great job with the horses."
Blazing Sevens has seemed to thrive since the Champagne, based on his recent works. On Oct. 22, he more than held his own while racing alongside the multiple 3-year-old grade 1 winner Jack Christopher . They covered five furlongs in 1:00.20 at Keeneland. A week later, he registered a quick :47.20 work in single company, third fastest of 89 at the distance.
"He's very good. He has a lot of things you look for in a good dirt colt at this time of year," Brown said. "He trains like an older horse. He's laid-back and easy on himself, easy to train. He's been very straightforward since the first day he came in. I'm excited to have him in the barn. He identified himself as a top prospect very early in the summer."
In facing Cave Rock on Future Stars Friday in the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile, Blazing Sevens will face a tall order against an undefeated runner who has won a pair of grade 1 stakes in California by 5¼ lengths each time and is the 4-5 favorite. Blazing Sevens will need a career-best effort to prevail, and some luck could come in handy, too.
"The way things are going, he could be our most successful Blazing Sevens bet ever," John Capek said. "Hopefully, he'll continue to be as lucky as Carla is."
