The following is part seven in a closer look at the eight New York Sire Stakes divisional leaders and their biggest threats in the $1.8-million Night of Champions at Yonkers Raceway, scheduled for September 22.

Two-Year-Old Filly Pace

The Leader: Summertime Lea, a filly by Lislea, out of the Life Sign mare Donna Summer. She is owned by Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, Frank Baldachino and Earl Smith, and is trained by Ron Burke.

The most dominant performer in any of the eight divisions of the New York Sire Stakes has been Summertime Lea, whose only blemish in eight starts was a second by three-quarters of a length to Freetime at Yonkers. Summertime Lea defeated Freetime in their other two meetings.

Even with that lone defeat, Summertime Lea accumulated 375 NYSS points out of a maximum 400 for the eight regular-season NYSS races. That makes her a deserving favourite in the $225,000 NYSS Final on the Night of Champions at Yonkers Raceway September 22. Summertime Lea has gone off under even money in her last eight starts.

“She’s not that impressive when you’re around her, but she seems to win,” Burke said. “We bought her after her first qualifier. We really thought she was just a trailer-filler. She just keeps doing things that surprise us. All she does is win.”

As if to put an exclamation point on her brilliant juvenile season, Summertime Lea broke the Yonkers track record for two-year-old pacing fillies when she defeated Hit The Curb by one length in 1:54.1 in the fourth and final $70,000-plus NYSS division last Monday as the 2-5 favourite. That she was bred by Yonkers Raceway owner Tim Rooney made the victory an even better story.

Earlier this summer, Summertime Lea won at Saratoga, Tioga Downs, Buffalo Raceway, Vernon Downs, Monticello Raceway and Batavia Downs.

Summertime Lea’s major threats in the final may be Freetime and Give Me An Amen. Each filly won a separate division at Yonkers to finish second and third in the standings with 257 and 230 points, respectively. Freetime rolled to a three and three-quarter-length victory in 1:56. Give Me An Amen held off Brussels Hanover by three-quarters of a length in 1:55.4.

The other division was taken by JK Black Beauty, who was making just her second pari-mutuel start following an easy victory in the NYSS Excelsior Series. She won by five and a quarter lengths in 1:56.2, but didn’t qualify for the NYSS final.

The five who did finish behind Summertime Lea, Freeetime and Give Me An Amen are Silk Pajamas (180), Brussels Hanover (178), Hit The Curb (175), See Major (166) and Park N Orchard (142).

(Agriculture and New York State Horses Breeding Development Fund)

Related Stories

• Leaders Of The Pack - Part 6
• Leaders Of The Pack - Part 5
• Leaders Of The Pack - Part 4
• Leaders Of The Pack - Part 3
• Leaders Of The Pack - Part 2
• Leaders Of The Pack - Part 1