Mohaymen ditches Travers, will race in King's Bishop
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. _ The connections of Mohaymen have re-routed their multiple graded-stakes-winning 3-year-old from next Saturday’s $1.25 million Travers at 1 1/4 miles to the $500,000 King’s Bishop Stakes at seven furlongs on the same card, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Sunday.
Mohaymen, fourth as the favorite in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on July 30, will be making his first start around one turn since he won the Grade 2 Nashua at a mile last Nov. 4, his second career start.
“We’re all in, in the King’s Bishop,” McLaughlin, a savvy poker player, said Sunday morning.
McLaughlin said the decision to divert from the Travers was made Saturday in consultation with Rick Nichols, racing manager for Sheikh Hamdan’s Shadwell Stable, which owns Mohaymen. The Travers is shaping up to be a full field at a distance that could be beyond Mohaymen’s best. The King’s Bishop is also coming up a large field, but there appears to be plenty of speed, which McLaughlin thinks will benefit Mohaymen.
“I think it’s a great chance to have a great shape, with some of these really fast horses, and then maybe we come running, is what I would envision,” McLaughlin said. “And like Rick said, he’d rather stand a horse that won a Grade 1 at seven eighths than 10 furlongs even though it’s the Travers.”
Junior Alvarado will retain the mount on Mohaymen for the King’s Bishop.
Mohaymen, a son of Tapit, won his first five starts including the Remsen at 1 1/8 miles, and the Fountain of Youth and Holy Bull at 1 1/16 miles. He has finished fourth in his last three starts -- the Florida Derby, Kentucky Derby, and Jim Dandy.
The field for the King’s Bishop is expected to include Bird Song, Drefong, Economic Model, Fish Trappe Road, Its All Relevant, Jazzy Times, Mind Your Biscuits, Noholdingback Bear, Rated R Superstar, Star Hill, Summer Revolution, Tom’s Ready and Yellow Chips.
A previous version of this article misstated the distance of the Fountain of Youth Stakes. It is 1 1/16 miles, not 1 1/8 miles.