Stunner, Rated by Merit Favored in Florida Sire Series

The 2024 Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association's Florida Sire Stakes series comes to a close Nov. 30 at Gulfstream Park with a pair of $300,000, 1 1/16-mile races for juveniles that attracted high-quality favorites. 

Up first of the two as the sixth race Saturday is the My Girl Division for 2-year-old fillies, where Stunner , a 3 1/2-length winner of the open Nov. 2 Tempted Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack, leads the seven-horse lineup. The daughter of Girvin   also won a maiden race at Aqueduct in September after a debut second at Saratoga Racecourse for owners LNJ Foxwoods and Church Street Stable and trainer Brad Cox, who has a string in South Florida at Payson Park this winter.

The field includes Desert Vixen Division winner R Morning Brew  and Susan's Girl Division winner Win N Your In .

Four races later in the In Reality for 2-year-old males, St Elias Stable's unbeaten Rated by Merit  routes for the first time after winning a maiden race in July and taking the first two legs of the series for males— the Dr. Fager Division and Affirmed Division, all sprints by open lengths and in fast time. 

His principal rival is Neoequos , runner-up in the Dr. Fager and the Affirmed.

Rated by Merit aims to become the ninth male juvenile to sweep the FSS series since it was launched in 1982.

Both Rated by Merit and Stunner start from the rail in their respective two-turn races.