The Grade 3 $158,000 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial drew a field of 11, and, to the surprise of some, one of trainer Marcus Melander's top older horses - Aetos Kronos S - did not make the earnings cut. Melander had plenty of backup as he entered two others, including one of last year's breakout stars Periculum in his quest to annex the year's first major Open event for trotters. Periculum makes his 6-year-old debut from post five in the tenth race of 14 on Saturday's program at the Meadowlands. "Last year when he came to me, he was coming off a so-so year in Sweden," said Melander. "We didn't know what to expect from him, but thankfully we staked him." Though starting out in 2024 below the Open level, Periculum gained momentum and would go on to capture the lucrative Maple Leaf Trot at Woodbine Mohawk Park that earned him an invitation to the $1 million MGM Yonkers International Trot where he finished second behind runaway winner Jiggy Jog S. "He's come back very well," said Melander. "I was very happy with his qualifier (May 2)." The 1:53 1/5 effort was enough for Melander to conclude his horse is ready for stakes competition. As for Aetos Kronos S failing to qualify: "I was a little surprised, but you know it's an early race and there's no Jiggy Jog to be concerned with, so I guess some others took a shot," Melander said. "I mean Up Your Deo didn't get in either." Melander expects Periculum to be ready to tackle 10 rivals in the field, with Oh Well, who finished second to Periculum in the Maple Leaf, perhaps in need of a start or two before hitting his top stride. "Oh Well knows the difference between a qualifier and a race," said Melander, assessing two third-place finishes in qualifying miles over the last two weeks. "He's the kind of horse that only does what he has to do. "He's a bigger horse and he needs more work," said Melander, who still expects Oh Well to race well on Saturday. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter With many of last year's top older horses now retired, the Cutler is a first step towards determining what this year's class will look like. In addition to Melander's pair, trainer Ron Burke has three in the Cutler, with last year's Hambletonian Maturity winner Chapercraz (post nine) looking for his second straight win following a 1:51 2/5 victory on May 2 at the Meadowlands. Burke's other pair – Lexus Kody (post two) and Antognoni S (post four) - have an inside track, with Antognoni S, who made a miscue in his last start, one of 2025's brightest stars after winning eight races in 10 tries since arriving from Sweden. "I have no idea why [he broke], but he touched his knee and that's why he ran. He doesn't even wear knee boots and didn't touch them at Yonkers," said Antognoni's driver and co-owner Yannick Gingras about the break on May 10. "I think he can go with them and will surprise a lot of people." Trainer Tony Alagna usually has his horses ready at first asking, and Ari Ferrari J looked more than ready in both of his qualifiers at the Meadowlands. Ari Ferrari J drew post three and races with Lasix for the first time. Trainer Ake Svanstedt has captured the Cutler in two of the last three years, scoring in 2024 with Jiggy Jog S and in 2022 with Ecurie D. He'll send out Get A Wish from post 11 in the second tier in this year's edition. The 7-year-old by Wishing Stone will be making his debut for Svanstedt, having last raced in the MGM Yonkers International last September for overseas connections. Trainer Nancy Takter captured the Cutler in 2021 with Manchego. She will send out Hasty Bid (post six), with the 5-year-old making his first start of the year following three qualifiers. Melander has several sophomore trotters in action on Saturday night with divisions of the Garden State for fillies and colts on the 14-race undercard. "I was happy the way Get It All raced in her first start," said Melander. Get It All cut out a 1:53 mile in her debut at the Meadowlands on April 25 but was out-kicked late by a colt. She'll face five fillies in the $40,000 Garden State division slated as race 11. The field includes Yo Tillie, a Tactical Landing-sired filly making her pari-mutuel debut for trainer Andrew Harris following a brilliant juvenile campaign in Kentucky last year. On the colt side, Melander pointed to Go Boom (post five) in the $55,000 Garden State male division going as race eight. The Garden State will give Melander's New Jersey-breds an opportunity prior to the Sire Stakes season getting underway in the coming weeks. His top 3-year-old trotter and winter book favorite for this year's Hambletonian - Maryland - is nearly ready to make his qualifying debut. "I had him up here last Saturday (May 10) and he trained a mile with Dexter (Dunn) in 1:58. He'll be back to qualify next Saturday (May 24) and we'll see if he qualifies just once or twice," said Melander, sounding more than happy with how Maryland has prepped for the coming sophomore season.