The field for the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell on July 18 at Monmouth Park, one of the summer’s marquee races for 3-year-olds, is already beginning to take shape. The field could add a few more candidates Saturday from the final local prep, the $125,000 Pegasus Stakes. Four stakes on Saturday’s Haskell Preview Day correspond to, and offer berths into, stakes on Monmouth’s signature card next month. All six 3-year-olds entered in the 1 1/16-mile Pegasus are seeking their respective first stakes victories. The top two finishers in the Pegasus earn free entry and starting fees into the Haskell, which is expected to include Preakness Stakes winner Napoleon Solo; Grade 1 winner Further Ado, the beaten Kentucky Derby favorite who bounced back to win the Grade 3 Matt Winn last weekend; Crude Velocity; and perhaps Hedge Ratio, local winner of the Long Branch Stakes. Pegasus entrant Star Sweeper is well-seasoned for trainer Lou Linder Jr., and is the only member of the field to have previously raced at Monmouth, a second in the Long Branch. “I couldn’t be any happier” with how the colt is coming into the race, Linder said. “He just seems to be getting a little bit better each time with his maturity. He took a big step forward in his last race, showing a lot of grit, a lot of fight, and he seems to build from there.” Star Sweeper and another key Pegasus contender, Schoolyardsuperman, were fifth and fourth, respectively, in the Withers on Feb. 6 at Aqueduct. Star Sweeper went on to finish second in the City of Brotherly Love at Parx and fifth in the Lafayette at Keeneland. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Schoolyardsuperman went back to allowance/optional-claiming company and was second by a length to his Chad Brown-trained stablemate Hedge Ratio, earning a 99 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest in Saturday’s field. Star Sweeper faced Hedge Ratio in the Long Branch on May 10. Uncharacteristically, the colt was on the lead early, taking advantage of a paceless race, and then was game inside the favorite to only miss by a head. His newfound versatility should give him some options in a Pegasus field that does have more speed on paper. “He ended up with the lead, and the eventual winner comes ranging up on him like he was just going to draw off, and [jockey Eric Cancel] said as soon as that horse came alongside him, he just picked the bit back up and didn’t want to let him go,” Linder said. “He’s not a need-to-lead horse. He can be tactical, he can lay back a little bit. It just seems like as he goes along, he’s just maturing into a horse that you can do a lot of things with in the race.” Baby Vino has been working steadily at Monmouth, including a key five-furlong work bullet move. The colt has improved his figures, and his finishing position, in each of his starts this year, culminating with a 2 3/4-length maiden win last out at Oaklawn Park. “This is a horse we’ve always liked from when he started,” trainer Lindsay Schultz said. “He’s kind of learned and developed with each of his races. We’ve made sure to give him some good works up here at Monmouth.” The field also includes last-out maiden winners National Charter and Tricky Business. Last-out allowance winner Ponder and Dream is cross-entered in Saturday’s Delaware Derby, with no final decision on his race status as of Thursday morning. Salvator Mile Defending winner Bishops Bay, Grade 1 winner East Avenue, and graded stakes winners Giocoso, Grande, and Point Dume top an intriguing lineup for the Grade 3, $150,000 Salvator Mile on Saturday at Monmouth. The top two finishers receive entry and starting fees to the Grade 3, $350,000 Monmouth Cup on the Haskell card. The Salvator Mile was one of four graded stakes wins at a mile last year for Bishops Bay. He finished fourth stretching out in the Group 1 Saudi Cup this year, and was most recently second to Grade 1 winner Antiquarian in the Grade 3 Westchester at a mile in his comeback rac. Point Dume won three straight races earlier this year, including the Grade 2 Carter at seven furlongs, leading throughout to win by a neck. The runner-up was none other than reigning Eclipse Award divisional champion Book’em Danno, who came back to win the Grade 3 True North last weekend. Point Dume was most recently 10th in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs, with trainer Tim Kreiser saying an illness going around the barn may have affected the gelding. “He just wasn’t himself,” he said. “He was flushed and didn’t have a temperature and he ate but you could tell he wasn’t himself that day. He was a little edgy in the gate and when they opened the gate he was caught flat-footed and that was it.” Millionaire Giocoso has done his best work on turf, but was Grade 3-placed at a mile on dirt as a juvenile. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.