The heavily favoured Heart Of Mine ($3.60) didn't break any hearts in the New York Sire Stakes for three-year-old filly pacers on Wednesday night (June 16), remaining a perfect five-for-five in 2021 with a three-quarter-length victory in 1:56 over Easy To Please at Buffalo Raceway.
Her triumph highlighted the three Sire Stakes divisions, each worth approximately $37,000.
While Heart Of Mine didn't disappoint, it was Rightfully Mine ($3.10) who was the fastest of the three brackets as she went 1:55 over a fast track in topping So Diva by 2-3/4 lengths.
Summer Rae won the battle of attrition in the other leg as she toppled Tava by a length in 1:57.3 to register a shocking $50.00 payoff.
Heart Of Mine (Scott Zeron) settled in early, but popped out to the lead just before the quarter pole. Setting the pace with reasonable fractions of :28.3, :58.2 and 1:28, Heart Of Mine dug in and held off threats coming from several angles in the lane. Easy To Please (Jim Morrill Jr.) took second with Shania Blue Chip (Drew Monti) finishing in third.
Trained by Linda Toscano, Heart Of Mine (Roll With Joe-Acquavella) has now produced winnings of $73,217 on the year and $204,632 lifetime.
Rightfully Mine (Shawn Gray) inherited the lead approaching the homestretch when favoured Blue Me A Kiss broke stride, and she comfortably rolled home to beat So Diva (Mark MacDonald) by 2-3/4 lengths. Party Queen (Matt Kakaley) grabbed the show spot.
"She made a little bobble at the start, but once I got her straightened away, she was good," Gray stated of Rightfully Mine. He said of the stretch drive, "I think we were going good enough and I felt we would have nipped her (Blue Me A Kiss)."
Co-owned by Anthony Scussel and Monique Cohen and trained by Sheena McElhiney, Rightfully Mine (American Ideal-Leah) earned her fourth victory in five appearances in 2021. The win jacked her seasonal bankroll to $41,765 and $147,777 in her career.
After four second-place finishes to start the season, Summer Rae broke into the win column for the first time and did so in a big way with a length score over Tava (Kakaley) in 1:57.3.
Going off as the longest shot on the board, Summer Rae was in hot pursuit of the leaders heading past the final marker and was aided as Roll On Mama, Carrington and Albergita Hanover all jumped it off turning for home.
Conditioned by Tom Fanning, Summer Rae (Roll With Joe-Solar Eclipse) has now earned $38,549 on the year and $76,103 in her lifetime.
In the lone $15,000 Excelsior A race, Seafood Sweetheart (Gray) led the entire mile and turned back Itzpapalotl (Zeron) by a comfortable 2-3/4 lengths in 1:56.2, producing a $4.00 win ticket.
Abby Rose (Ray Fisher Jr.) blasted out to an early advantage then held off the late-charging Elegant Blue (Kakaley) by a head to post the surprising $10.20 score in the first $6,400 Excelsior B event. Abby Rose covered the distance in 2:01.1.
The second division saw Miley Rose (Morrill) defeat stablemate Dealonimo (Kakaley) in 2:01.4. The triumph was worth $2.80 to her backers.
Morrill led the way for the drivers with a triple while Gray posted a double. McElhiney had a pair of training victories.
Racing returns on Saturday evening (June 19) at 6 p.m. with an 11-race program set.
(Buffalo Raceway)