Rated by Merit. (Lauren King)
Remaining undefeated, St. Elias Stable Homebred eligible for FFS Sweep Nov. 30
David Joseph/Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Rated by Merit started Vinnie Viola’s Saturday on a winning note at Gulfstream Park with a 3 ¾-length victory in the $200,000 Affirmed Stakes less than two hours before his owner’s Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers were slated to take the ice for their clash with the Las Vegas Golden Knights at nearby Amerant Bank Arena.
Bred and owned by Viola’s St. Elias Stable, Rated by Merit remained undefeated in three career starts while winning the second leg of the 2024 FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes for 2-year-old colts and geldings sired by accredited Florida stallions. The Michael Yates trainee entered the Affirmed off a July 13 debut victory by 9 ¾ lengths and a 6 ¼-length romp Sept. 7 in the $100,000 Dr. Fager, the first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes Series.
“I just want to thank Bo (Michael Yates). He’s done a phenomenal job with the horse,” Viola said. “He’s really balanced, and it looks like he could be something, so it’s exciting.”
Rated by Merit, the 1-5 favorite in a field of six, broke alertly to grab a lead that would be quickly challenged by Neoequos, the 5-1 second betting choice, along the backstretch and around the turn. After posting fractions of 22.74 and 45.45 (seconds) for the first half-mile, Rated by Merit was asked by jockey Jesus Rios, and the Florida-bred colt responded with a strong kick through the stretch to win comfortably.
“The race went as we expected. I thought we would be on the lead and [Neoequos] would be pressing us,” Rios said. “I am very impressed with the horse. I trust him a lot. When I asked the horse to run, I know he is going to respond.”
Rated by Merit ran seven furlongs in 1:22.55, just .09 of Soutache’s 2017 record of 1:22.46. Neoequos held second, 7 ¼ lengths ahead of Classic of Course.
“[Neoequos] ran well, just beaten by a superior horse in the group,” said trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. of Neoequos. “We tried, gave it our best, he’s a much better horse, credit to him. We’re running winning races but we’re not winning because we’re facing a horse that’s better than us.”
Yates admitted to being a little nervous from Neoequos’ strong outside challenge.
“When I saw [Rios] cue him a little bit on the turn to check him out, he had horse, and I felt a lot better,” Yates said. “He made him work hard. He needs to work hard to move forward.”
Rated by Merit will have the opportunity to become the 11th colt or gelding to sweep the Florida Sire Stakes series in the $300,000 In Reality Nov. 30.
“I think this is the right path for him, to get him enough time to show us where he wants to wind up,” said Viola, who has resisted out-of-town options for his homebred.
Rated by Merit earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure for his debut victory and a 93 figure for his Dr. Fager win, ranking among the fastest 2-year-olds in the country.
“We’re tickled to death. He’s very talented,” Yates said. “He just seems to take everything in stride. Today, he had his ears up, pricking his ears back and forth. He knew it was race day.”
The 1 1/16-mile distant of the In Reality shouldn’t pose a problem for Rated by Merit, Yates said.
“I think the In Reality is the next step. It’s two turns and we’ll get ready for the winter meet,” Yates said.
