Bozzo resists temptation with Flutterby

MIAMI – He might not have been quite as big a story as American Pharoah, but there is little doubt that owner and trainer Jerry Bozzo would have been a media darling at Keeneland if he’d followed through on the original plan of running Flutterby in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. But in the end, the 94-year-old Bozzo opted to stay at home with his homebred Flutterby, even though competing in the Breeders’ Cup was certainly high on his bucket list.

“She wasn’t nominated originally, so it would have cost me $120,000 to nominate and enter, and it was a little too close [to her last start] for me to gamble that much money on it,” Bozzo said on Monday. “It’s unfortunate because I’ve had so many requests and phone calls since her last start, so many people wanting me to bring that horse out here, stable with them, and be a part of the Breeders’ Cup. It’s kind of disappointing that we’re not going to go. It would have been a wild time.”

Flutterby, a 4-year-old daughter of Congrats, nearly earned a trip to the Filly and Mare Sprint when she finished second in the Grade 2 Princess Rooney at Gulfstream Park over the summer. Bozzo was seriously considering taking Flutterby anyway after she outsprinted the Grade 1-placed Kiss to Remember en route to an impressive victory in the seven-furlong Added Elegance overnight stakes at Gulfstream on Sept. 27.

“Even though it was seven furlongs, which I wasn’t sure was in her range, she came out of the race like she hadn’t done anything,” said Bozzo. “She wasn’t the least bit tired. She’s not the best shipper in the world – she’s a pretty hyper young lady – so the trip might have been hardest on her. As for me, you know I’m game for anything.”

Bozzo, who’ll celebrate his 95th birthday on Oct. 25, said he’ll skip the next local race for Flutterby and point her toward the series of graded stakes for filly and mare sprinters at the Gulfstream Park championship meet this winter.

◗ A field of six fillies and mares will contest Thursday’s $40,000 main event at Gulfstream Park West, a six-furlong optional claimer. Recent allowance winners Hanalei Hailey and Don’t Tell Vanessa figure to vie for favoritism in the race.