Mohaymen Looks to Recapture Form in King's Bishop

Photo Credit: Casey Laughter

In an effort to help the previously unbeaten Mohaymen re-discover his edge, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin has decided to mix thing ups by entering the son of Tapit in the seven furlong Kings Bishop Stakes (GI).

The original plan for the beaten favorite of the Jim Dandy (GII) Stakes was to aim for the Travers. Mohaymen, who had been training lights out for the Jim Dandy, finished an inexplicable fourth, leaving his connections scratching their heads. He did take a stumble at the start, which did put him in a tough spot, but it wasn’t anything the colt had trouble overcoming in the past.

After his most recent work, a half mile bullet in :47.33, the Shadwell Stable team huddled together and decided that it would be in the best interest of Mohaymen to re-route to the Kings Bishop.

"It's huge, and if he wins it, it's off the charts," McLaughlin said. "He's won four Grade 2's and to win a [seven-furlong] Grade 1 is huge as a stallion.

“He's 2-for-2 around one turn. He broke his maiden at six [furlongs] and won the [Grade 2] Nashua at a mile at Aqueduct."

Some might question the abruptness of the decision, questioning whether Mohaymen will be ready for a seven-furlong event against grade one competition, after training for the 10-furlong Travers Stakes.

You would think it would be different, and it might be a little different, but not with him and me,” said McLaughlin. “He never takes a deep breath; he never gets tired. So, once they're fit, they're fit, but he's unusual in that regard. He's clean-winded. He's a fit racehorse."

McLaughlin also feels that with the inherently quicker pace that will be seen in the King’s Bishop, Mohaymen’s closing kick will have a better effect.

"We feel like we'll be more of a closer because we certainly can't go :21, :43 or :44 [seconds] with those Baffert horses," he said. "We're not going to have to do much as far as taking him back.

We'll have to let [jockey] Junior [Alvarado] find his spot, whether it's fourth or twelfth, or somewhere in between there, and hope he responds.

“We'll have to let [jockey] Junior [Alvarado] find his spot, whether it's fourth or twelfth, or somewhere in between there, and hope he responds.”

Whether or not the cut back to sprinting will help Mohaymen remains to be seen. At this point though, with such a talented horse that has displayed such a devastating turn of foot, the spot seems to make sense.

The competition will be much stiffer than what Mohaymen beat in his maiden win and the Nashua Stakes (GII). However, if he can recapture the form he had during this spring, the level of competition will not matter in the least.

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