why can't you just make one single query and use the order by?
$likes = implode(',', $likes);
$this->YourModel->virtualFields['in_like'] = "IF(Record.category_id IN ($likes), 0, 1)";
$this->Paginator->settings = array(
'conditions' => array(
'Record.status =' => 'published',
'RecordUser.flagged =' => null,
),
'limit' => 10,
'order' => array('in_like' => 'asc', 'rate' => 'desc')
);