St. Elias Stable enjoyed a productive day at the races Saturday at Belmont at the Big A when homebreds Rated by Merit and Asbury Park were the respective winners of the restricted $125,000 Discovery and the Grade 2, $500,000 Jockey Club Derby Invitational for trainer Chad Brown.

Rated by Merit brought his record to a perfect 5-for-5 in his first start for Brown after making his first four starts at Gulfstream Park for conditioner Michael Yates, including three Florida-sired stakes. Away from the races since November 30, the sophomore son of Battalion Runner returned with aplomb in the one-mile Discovery to post a 1 1/4-length score in pacesetting fashion under Manny Franco, completing the course in 1:33.45 and earning a career-best 105 Beyer Speed Figure.

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“He’s a super talented horse,” Brown said following the race. “Look how he started his career off undefeated, which is really hard to do. You can tell he takes good care of himself this horse. He’s all racehorse. There’s some things to work on for sure but I’m happy to see him keep his undefeated record intact.”

Rated by Merit did drift out in the lane, which Brown had noticed in the mornings, leading him to breeze the colt solo in his works leading up to his barn debut.

“As you can see, the horse when he grabs the bit hard, he tries to cock his head and go out a little bit, so I didn’t feel it was going to benefit him to put him in company,” said Brown, who also sent out Discovery runner-up Wise Up. “In company, he’s going to be too hard on the bit and try to lean out.”

Brown added that Rated by Merit could put his perfect record on the line in the Grade 2, $500,000 Cigar Mile on December 6 at Aqueduct.

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“He looks like a horse you’d have to think about pointing him to the Cigar Mile,” Brown concluded.

Just two races after Rated by Merit took the Discovery, Brown sent out the Franco-piloted Asbury Park to notch his first stakes win in the 1 3/8-mile Grade 2 Jockey Club Derby Invitational for sophomores over the inner turf in which the Brown-trained favorite Hill Road finished third.

Co-owned by St. Elias and Peter Brant, Asbury Park, a son of Frankel, bounced back from a closing third in the restricted Listed Saranac on September 1 at Saratoga Race Course, and earned a career-best 86 Beyer in victory.

Following the race, Brown indicated that the nine-furlong Grade 1 Hollywood Derby on November 29 at Del Mar could be Asbury Park’s next target.

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Looking ahead to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic on November 1 at Del Mar, Brown sent out defending Classic-winner and reigning Champion 3-Year-Old Colt Sierra Leone to breeze a half-mile Saturday over Saratoga’s Oklahoma dirt training track. The Gun Runner colt covered the distance in 48.88 seconds to the inside of dual Grade 1-winner Chancer McPatrick.

Brown noted the work was “super,” and that he is unsure if he will send Sierra Leone to Belmont Park to make his final preparations for the Breeders’ Cup as he did last year ahead of his 1 1/2-length Classic victory.

“I don’t know. I did last year but he’s loving Saratoga right now,” Brown said.

This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Oct 5, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.