On a huge racing weekend, who was the Fastest Horse, as measured by the Beyer Speed Figures? He was an under-the-radar pick: Rated By Merit, the winner of the Discovery Stakes at Aqueduct. The 1-5 favorite in the race, he ran a 105 in his three-year-old debut. He heads next to the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.
00:00The Fastest Horses of the Week, brought to you by the Fast Sires at Windstar Farm.
00:06And since we're talking about last Saturday's Champagne Steaks, let's talk about a Champagne winner standing at Windstar.
00:13That would be Timberlake.
00:15Timberlake, when he won his Champagne, won it by a margin of four and a quarter lengths.
00:21The future eventual two-year-old champion of that year, Fierceness, was back in the pack in that Champagne.
00:27And in that race, Timberlake got a buyer speed figure of 93.
00:31The other Champagne-winning son of Into Mischief, practical joke, when he won his Champagne, got a buyer of only 88.
00:39And Timberlake is one of only two sons of Into Mischief at stud with a grade one win as a two-year-old.
00:47Now, the Fastest Horses of the Week flew under the radar just a little bit this past weekend.
00:52But I have a feeling he won't when we get to the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar.
00:57I'm talking about Rated by Merit.
01:00Remember that name?
01:01That was the horse that swept through the In Reality Stallion series at Gulfstream Park as a two-year-old before he went down with bone bruising.
01:09He was a perfect four for four as a two-year-old.
01:12Retrainer Michael Yates won all his races by open lengths.
01:15Owned by Vinny Viola, a product of Viola's stallion battalion runner.
01:19We talked about this horse a lot on the podcast as a two-year-old.
01:23Well, he made his three-year-old debut on Saturday at Belmont at Aqueduct in the Discovery Stakes.
01:29And he won again.
01:30And he won with a buyer's speed figure of 105, the fastest of the week.
01:36And new trainer Chad Brown will now be pointing Rated by Merit for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, where he's expected to face the likes of defending champ Full Serrano, Nysos, and Patch Adams.
01:49But for now, Rated by Merit, our fastest horse of the week.
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