Hydraulic has best Beyer in Pegasus field

Father’s Day at Monmouth Park is the second-most-attended afternoon of the season after the Haskell Invitational. Last year, the announced attendance was 18,527, and with sports betting now on the menu Sunday’s crowd will likely be even larger.

The 13-race card includes four stakes, including the $100,000 Pegasus, the first of two 1 1/16-mile races for 3-year-olds on the local schedule that lead up to the Haskell, and in some years can produce starters for the race. The 3-year-old dirt program continues with the Long Branch on July 7.

The other Sunday stakes are the Mr. Prospector and the Regret, at six furlongs, and the Dan Horn, a two-turn turf race for New Jersey-breds. The late pick five, which begins on race 9 and consists of three stakes and two overnight races, has a $150,000 promotional guarantee if there is a single winning ticket.

Trainer Miguel Vera has entered the top contenders Hydraulic and Forced in the Pegasus for the Newtown Anner Stud of Maurice and Samantha Regan. Hydraulic is 2 for 2 and comes into the Pegasus off a 3 1/2-length two-turn allowance win at Parx Racing and a race-high 94 Beyer Speed Figure.

Forced is a hard-luck 1 for 3. He won his debut, was disqualified out of an 8 1/4-length Parx allowance victory at six furlongs, and then just missed by a nose to Engage in the six-furlong Gold Fever at Belmont Park, earning a 92 Beyer. Engage came back to finish second in the Grade 2 Woody Stephens last Saturday.

Hydraulic, a $260,000 yearling purchase at the 2016 Keeneland September sale, will start in the Pegasus. Vera is still in the process of deciding whether Forced, a $120,000 buy at the same sale, will run.

“Hydraulic has always showed me he wants to go long,” Vera said. “I am very excited about him. Forced is more of a sprinter. I think he can get two turns, but his best distance may be six furlongs or seven-eighths.”

Vera, 47, came to the United States from Argentina 17 years ago. He worked as an assistant at Parx for trainer Steve Klesaris, and then galloped horses for Kate DeMasi after Klesaris relocated to New York.

Since opening a stable in 2011, Vera has won 81 races and has a win average of 17 percent. He went to Tampa Bay Downs for the first time last winter and plans to return. Vera has moved his 15-horse stable from Parx to Monmouth this summer.

Supreme Aura comes into the Pegasus off a third-place finish in the six-furlong Woodstock over Tapeta at Woodbine for trainer Mike Stidham. Prior to that, he finished third in the Bachelor at Oaklawn Park to Mitole and Mr. Jagermeister, both of whom came back to win their next start.

This will be the second time Stidham tries to stretch Supreme Aura out around two turns, and the son of Candy Ride looks as if he might now be ready to take on more distance.

Dr. Hipp won a one-mile maiden race at Monmouth last out for Chad Brown. He faces tougher in this spot.

Justaholic makes his two-turn debut,a nd is trained by Keith Nations. He won twice over the winter at Tampa Bay Downs and closed well to finish second by a neck in the six-furlong Tom Ridge over the synthetic surface at Presque Isle Downs in his most recent race.