HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - He may have had to work a little harder than he was used to, but the result was the same after Rated by Merit pulled away to yet another convincing victory, by 3 3/4 lengths over Neoequos, in Saturday’s $200,000 Affirmed Stakes, the middle leg of the open division of the Florida Sire Series at Gulfstream Park.
Rated by Merit came into the seven-furlong Affirmed having won his first two starts by a combined 16 lengths, including the opening leg of the series, the six-furlong Dr. Fager, by 6 1/4 lengths with Neoequos second-best on that day as well.
As was the case in the Dr. Fager, Rated for Merit and Neoequos contested the early pace. This time the two remained locked in a head-to-head battle for nearly six furlongs before the odds-on favorite began to assert his authority by edging clear approaching the eighth pole, then striding away once switching back to his right lead at midstretch.
Neoequos, to his credit, held on well despite proving no match for the winner in the final furlong, checking home 7 1/4 lengths in front of third-place finisher Classic of Course. The order of finish for the top three was the same as the Dr. Fager six weeks earlier.
Rated by Merit, a homebred son of Battalion Runner owned by St. Elias Stable and trained by Michael (Bo) Yates, covered the distance over a fast track in 1:22.55 seconds and paid $2.40. The final time was the fastest in this event since Soutache completed seven panels in 1:22.46 in 2017.
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“I was a little nervous as the race unfolded, but I saw when he cued him a little around the turn to check him out, he had horse and I felt much better,” Yates said. “He (Neoequos) made him work hard, absolutely he did, and that’s a good thing. He needs to work hard to move forward.”
Yates said he would discuss it with the owners, but admitted the 1 1/16-mile In Reality, final leg of the Sire Series, would be the next best step for Rated by Merit.
“I’ll let Mr. and Mrs. Viola help me with that decision, although the In Reality makes the most sense,” Yates said. “The extra distance should suit him just fine, because the pace figures to be a little less taxing than it was today. It’s two turns and should get him ready for the winter meet.”
“I think this is the right path for him, to get him enough time to show us where he wants to wind up,” Viola said. “Bo has done a phenomenal job with this horse. He’s really balanced and looks like he could be something, so it’s exciting.”
Rated for Merit will bid to become the 11th 2-year-old colt or gelding to sweep the open division of the Sire series if he returns for the In Reality on Nov 30.
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. did not rule out the possibility that he could wheel Neoequos back against Rated for Merit for a third time in the In Reality.
“I think our horse is an above-average stallion series horse, he’s just met one that’s better than him this year, he just picked the wrong year,” Joseph said. “It’s tempting to come back in the next one, although I feel we’re running so hard against this horse and we’re wasting money because there are so many other opportunities. From his physique and the way he ran seven-eighths today, I think he can handle two turns. He didn’t stop today, he just ran into a superior product.”
Win N Your In bounced back from a disappointing performance as the odds-on favorite in the Desert Vixen Stakes six weeks ago by rallying to a convincing 3 3/4-length decision of her own over the 45-1 outsider Kip the Distance in the $200,000 Susan’s Girl, second leg of the filly division of the Florida Sire Series.
Win N Your In finished a tiring third as the 1-2 favorite in the six-furlong Desert Vixen when returning off an easy, 4 3/4-length triumph against open company in the Sharp Susan Stakes. She had six weeks to recuperate from that outing in advance of the Susan’s Girl and looked like a different filly for trainer Carlos David and her regular rider Miguel Vasquez.
Win N Your In broke well and was allowed to rate just off the early pace set by Rogue Diamond and stalked from the outset by R Morning Brew, who came into the Susan’s Girl unbeaten and virtually untested in two previous starts that included a 5 1/2-length triumph in the Desert Vixen. Win N Your In bided her time before finding ample room to readily overtake the tiring leader when roused near the five sixteenths marker, quickly opened a commanding advantage and was never threatened thereafter while kept under pressure and remaining on her left lead to the wire.
Kip the Distance raced wide throughout and was easily second-best, finishing 2 3/4 lengths in front of the tiring R Morning Brew, who retired after five furlongs.
Win N Your In is a daughter of Win Win Win. She is trained by David for owners Troy Johnson and Maritza Weston. Her final time of 1:25.23 was nearly three seconds slower than Rated by Merit, who completed seven furlongs a couple of hours earlier to take the Affirmed Stakes.
“The original plan was to go to the lead, her best performances have been on the lead, so I told Miguel to encourage her to go to the lead if you can get it, otherwise let her sit back and let them do their thing and just come around,” David said. “I was a little bit worried coming around the turn. The two (Rogue Diamond) was stopping a little bit and I thought we could get stuck on the rail. But we got lucky there.”
David said the heat was the culprit when Win N Your In turned in her sub-par performance in the Desert Vixen.
“Some horses just don’t handle the heat that well, and she’s one of them," David admitted. “I told my guys as long as we had good weather today, she’s going to rock it. And she did. I like her going longer, so hopefully she takes on the two turns (in the 1 1/16-mile My Dear Girl on Nov. 30).”
Loco Abarrio held off a late bid from Big Martini, then survived both a steward’s inquiry and claim of foul by the rider of the runner-up before being declared the official winner of the $100,000 Gil Campbell Memorial Handicap.
Last year’s winner, the 3-5 favorite Octane, was eased to the wire, bled and was vanned off after the race.
Loco Abarrio dueled for the lead from the outset of the one-mile Campbell, held a clear lead exiting the furlong grounds, drifted in front of Big Martini, forcing that one to alter course near the sixteenth pole, before turning back a late bid from Big Martini to prove best by a half-length. Awesome Train finished third while never threatening the top two.
Loco Abarrio is trained by Ronald Spatz for Mad Dog Racing Stable and Joseph Park. He paid $9.80.
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