Seven horses were entered Sunday for Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct, but expected race favorite Rated by Merit wasn’t among them.  Trainer Chad Brown said he wasn’t satisfied with how Rated by Merit worked Sunday morning at Belmont Park and thus decided to hold the undefeated 3-year-old out of the race, which would have been the colt’s first start against older horses. Rated by Merit went 4 for 4 as a 2-year-old and won the restricted Dwyer Stakes in his lone start at 3.  Rated by Merit worked a half-mile in 49.63 seconds Sunday morning, a day later than Brown had planned largely because the Belmont training track was not to Brown’s satisfaction Saturday morning. Brown liked the track Sunday, but was not enthused with the workout.  “For a horse that is an exceptional work horse, he was far from that today, I thought,” Brown said. “I want to step back a minute and check this horse out. He just wasn’t moving as well, I wasn’t in love with it.”  Brown said he wants to talk with the connections of Rated by Merit - Vinnie and Teresa Viola - before confirming what next steps would be for the horse, whom Brown was hoping to run in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream following the Cigar.  Meanwhile, favoritism in the Cigar Mile, one of six stakes on an 11-race card, may now fall to Bishops Bay or Phileas Fogg.   Bishops Bay, a 5-year-old son of Uncle Mo trained by Brad Cox, has won five of his last six starts, including the Grade 3 Forty Niner last month and the Grade 3 Westchester in May, both one-turn-mile races at Aqueduct.  Bishops Bay, the co-highweight at 125 pounds along with Phileas Fogg, drew the outside post and will be ridden by Flavien Prat.  Phileas Fogg drew post 6 and will be ridden by Joel Rosario for the first time. Kendrick Carmouche rode Phileas Fogg in his last five starts, including victories in the Grade 2 Suburban in July and the Excelsior in April.  Carmouche was aboard for the Jockey Club Gold Cup, in which Phileas Fogg came over on horses soon after the start, leading to a chain reaction that ultimately had Irad Ortiz Jr. being unseated from Mindframe. Phileas Fogg finished third, but was disqualified and placed seventh.  Most recently, Phileas Fogg was second, beaten three-quarters of a length by Locked, in the three-horse Grade 2 Woodward Stakes.  The Cigar Mile will represent a turnback in distance for Phileas Fogg, who did win a one-mile race in September 2024. That was his second start after being claimed by trainer Gustavo Rodriguez.  “I think he’s going to be fine at a mile,” Rodriguez said. “There’s going to be a strong pace. He won before at Aqueduct going one mile.”  Rodriguez will add blinkers to Phileas Fogg’s equipment for the Cigar Mile.  Doc Sullivan, who just won the Thunder Rumble division of the New York Stallion Series on Nov. 22, was entered back by trainer John Ortiz. Doc Sullivan drew the rail.  Outside of Doc Sullivan and leading up to Phileas Fogg in post order are Mika, Pentathlon, Crazy Mason and Brazenly.  :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.