St. Elias Stable's homebred Rated by Merit , who swept the 2024 Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association Florida Sire Stakes series at Gulfstream Park as an undefeated 2-year-old has been retired from racing. He will enter stud next year at Ocala Stud in Central Florida for a $3,500 fee.
Rated by Merit made short work of his rivals in the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series, demonstrating brilliant speed and the stamina to carry it two turns. He won all three races by a combined 16 lengths, including the Affirmed Division with a 99 Beyer Speed Figure, the fastest Beyer by a 2-year-old in his crop, and earned a 107 Equibase Speed Figure. In sweeping the 6-furlong Dr. Fager Division, 7-furlong Affirmed division, and the 1 1/16-mile In Reality division for trainer Michael Yates, the son of Battalion Runner became just the 11th male to take the full series, joining the likes of subsequent grade 1 stakes winners and Eclipse Award champions Smile (1984) and Big Drama (2008), as well as multiple grade 1 winner Jackson Bend (2009), and graded stakes winners Express Tour (2000) and Fort Loudon (2011).
Sidlined for much of his 3-year-old year, Rated by Merit returned to action last fall, wiring his foes in the restricted Discovery Handicap during the Belmont at the Big A meet for new trainer Chad Brown. He cleared a mile in 1:33.45, a little over a second off Easy Goer's record of 1:32.4 set in 1989. The speedy win extended his perfect record to 5-for-5.
Two follow-up starts in 2026 resulted in a fourth-place finish in the Carter Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack and a sixth in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.
"He was the benchmark of his crop at 2," said Ocala Stud's David O'Farrell. "He possessed the rare combination of explosive speed and the stamina required to carry it over a route of ground. That kind of precocity, paired with his ability to defeat top company at 3 in the Discovery Handicap with a 106 Beyer, makes him an exciting stallion prospect for breeders looking for speed, versatility and grade 1-caliber class."
Battalion Runner is a multiple graded stakes-placed son of Unbridled's Song. St. Elias bred Rated by Merit out of the winning Speightstown mare Banner Waving. He hails from the family of the grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Runup the Colors ($555,024), who is the dam of multiple graded stakes winner and Revolutionary, and grade 1 winner Prospectors Delite, who is the dam of 2003 Horse of the Year and successful sire Mineshaft.
