The 4-year-old daughter of Congrats quickly recovered from her less-than-ideal start to take the lead along the backstretch and continue on to comfortably hold off Marty Wolfson-trained Ballerina (G1) runner-up Kiss to Remember by three quarters of a length in 1:22.89.
“One-twenty-two-and-change? Maybe we ought to go to the Breeders' Cup,” said Bozzo, believed to be the oldest trainer to win a stakes race. “This kind of changed all my thinking. Marty's horse is red hot, having just run second in a Grade 1. Now, I am (considering the Breeders’ Cup), but I have to double-check, with timing and so on. I may not be eligible to nominate her. I have to look into the whole thing.”
Flutterby has won three stakes in her last four starts, finishing second in the other race, the Princess Rooney (G2), a Breeders’ Cup ‘Win & You’re In’ stakes at Gulfstream July 5.
Sent to post for the Added Elegance as the 3-2 second choice behind 4-5 favorite Kiss to Remember, Flutterby was never seriously challenged after dragging jockey Luca Panici to the lead on the backstretch.
“She ran huge. After two jumps no one was going with her so I just went to the lead with her,” Panici said. “I hope he [Bozzo] thinks about going to the Breeders’ Cup.”
The $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint will be run Oct. 30 at Keeneland.
Miller Racing’s Kiss to Remember raced in fourth along the backstretch and rallied to finish second under Edgard Zayas, 2 ¾ lengths ahead of My Miss Venezuela and jockey Miguel Vasquez.
Flutterby, who earned $45,570 to boost her earnings over $325,000, has been a source of pride and enjoyment for Bozzo as she has continued to develop into a top-class sprinter.
"About the only thing I can tell you is: 'Wow!' I've run out of superlatives,” he said. “But she deserves the superlatives, particularly this time."