The Grade 3, $150,000 Salvator Mile Stakes drew a field of nine for Saturday’s feature race at Monmouth Park as a part of Haskell Preview Day.

The streaking Bishops Bay has won three races in a row, including the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes at Belmont at the Big A last month. Millionaire Trademark leads the field in terms of career earnings and makes his 2025 debut off a 7 1/2-month layoff with his last win coming in the Grade 2 Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare in the fall of 2023. Offaly Cool enters the race coming off the seventh victory of his career. Vitality, winner of the Prince of Wales Stakes last September, also won his most recent start in his return after 4 1/2 months off. Tuscan Sky won the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth on this card last year but is winless in six races since. Nelson Avenue finished second Grade 3 Forty Niner Stakes last October then won the Blitzen Stakes on New Year’s Eve but hasn’t won in four races in 2025. Antigravity earned his most recent win last July and has not finished in the money in three races this year. Awesome Ruta missed by a nose in the Petramalo Mile Stakes last August and has finished third in both starts this year. Surface to Air finished fourth behind Offaly Cool in the Kris Kringle Stakes when last seen and returns from 5 1/2 months on the sidelines.

Pace scenario:

As with most races, the way this race is run in the early stages is key to who should be in the top positions at the end. Tuscan Sky earned his best win last year on this day in the Pegasus Stakes, leading from start to finish to earn a career-best 106 Equibase Speed Figure but he’s been unable to show that kind of early speed since then mostly because there have been other horses that are faster and more intent on having the early lead. For example, most recently in the Fort Marcy Stakes on May 3, Deterministic was bent on setting the pace and led from start to finish. In this field, Nelson Avenue is very likely to play the role of early leader as he goes from one turn to two turns and has led early in both of his last two races. Tuscan Sky and Nelson Avenue could battle for the early lead on faster than average fractions and be susceptible to being passed in the late stages. Offaly Cool, Bishops Bay, and Vitality are the three horses mostly likely to take advantage and are the top contenders to win.

Bishops Bay. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Top Contenders:

In addition to the potential pace battle, Bishops Bay also may be up close, having been no farther back than third after a half-mile in any of his nine career starts. With the above pace scenario in mind, Offaly Cool gets top billing because he has the best chance to race in fourth or fifth early and close strongly. That’s just what he did in his most recent race on May 27, when under jockey Abner Adorno he moved from fourth to take the lead in the stretch and edged away late, earning a very strong Equibase Speed Figure which is the second-best last race figure in the field behind the 111 figure Bishops Bay earned in his most recent race. Among his seven career wins in 16 main track races, Offaly Cool earned a career-best 113 figure winning a two-turn race in the fall of 2023. Offaly Cool also is very consistent, having finished second six times in 18 races. Considering the way the race shapes up, and with jockey Adorno aboard as he’s been for the horse’s last two wins, Offaly Cool looks to be a very strong contender.

Bishops Bay has never finished out of the exacta in his career which began in the winter of 2023. He likes to win with six victories in nine career starts plus second-place finishes in the other three outings. In his third career start, Bishops Bay missed by a head to Arcangelo, who won the Belmont Stakes the following month. After being away from the races for more than 16 months until November of last year, Bishops Bay returned in top form to win three of his first four races, including an Oaklawn Park restricted stakes race in March of this year. That was the fourth straight race in which Bishops Bay had earned a 108 Equibase figure, which he bettered to 111 last month when winning the Westchester Stakes. That was a one-turn race, so with a return to two turns here we might expect another top effort from Bishops Bay, who along with Offaly Cool should put on a show as they battle down to the finish line. The only concern regarding Bishops Bay is that he drew the rail for his last two races and gets the outside post position in a nine-horse field for this race, meaning it is very likely he will be in third position early behind likely leaders Tuscan Sky and Nelson Avenue. Bishops Bay was in this position once previously, last November, racing in third for the first half-mile before drawing off to win.

Vitality closed from last of six to twin his most recent race on May 11, earning a 100 Equibase figure. The speed figure is pretty far below what the top two contenders have earned, but it can be improved upon with Vitality making his second start following nearly a 4 1/2-month layoff. Last September, Vitality won the Prince of Wales Stakes in his first ever race on dirt. Staying on dirt, Vitality earned 100 and 101 figures last fall. He returned from a layoff last month in fine fashion and Vitality likely can improve in this race in the horse’s second start for trainer Joe Orseno.

The rest of the field (with best Equibase Speed Figure in a similar race): Tuscan Sky (106), Antigravity (95), Awesome Ruta (88), Nelson Avenue (115), Surface to Air (104) and Trademark (112).

Win Contenders in preference/probability order:

Offaly Cool

Bishops Bay

Vitality