St. Elias Stable's Rated by Merit (Batallion Runner–Banner Waving, by Speightstown) will stand the 2027 breeding season at Ocala Stud, the nursery announced via press release Thursday morning.The best-performed son of St. Elias's multiple graded-placed Battalion Runner (by Unbridled's Song), the homebred graduated by nearly 10 lengths at first asking in the summer of his 2-year-old season for Chad Brown, then swept the Florida Stallion Stakes series–the six-furlong Dr. Fager Stakes, the seven-furlong Affirmed Stakes and the In Reality Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth–by a combined 16 lengths. He would go on to validate long odds-on favoritism in the 2025 Discovery Stakes and retires with a record of 5-0-0 from seven starts and earnings of $516,750.“He was the benchmark of his crop at two,” 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 three in the Discovery Handicap with a 106 Beyer, makes him an exciting stallion prospect for breeders looking for speed, versatility and Grade I-caliber class.”Rated by Merit, whose third dam is MGISW Runup the Colors (A.P. Indy) and whose descendants include Horse of the Year Mineshaft and Revolutionary, will stand for $3,500, stands-and-nurses terms.The post Four-Time Stakes Winner Rated by Merit To Stand at Ocala Stud appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.