Mohaymen Captures the Remsen Stakes

Mohaymen remained undefeated in his third start with a one-and-a-half-length victory in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes.

The pretty gray son of Tapit tucked in behind pace setter Donegal Moon through leisurely fractions of :24.35, :49.16 and 1:13.73, while Flexibility and Runaway King kept company with Donegal Moon from the outside.

At the top of the stretch, Mohaymen, under deft handling by jockey Junior Alvarado, squeezed through a narrow opening between a Donegal Moon and Flexibility, while Gift Box made a four-wide move on the outside of the trio. By the eighth pole, Mohaymen raced as a team with a determined Flexibility, with Gift Box hot on their heels.  Four strides later, Mohaymen shifted into another gear and pulled clear of Flexibility, and that one finished a half-length in front of Gift Box. It was five lengths back to Sail Ahoy  in fourth, who placed a half length in front of a tired Donegal Moon.

Junior Alvarado remarked after the race, "He broke good. He got outrun the first part and I didn't want to rush him too much; he can get a little tough. I did like last time, sat behind, just tried to wait. By the quarter-pole, horses were starting to pick it up and I still had a lot of horse. I just tried to find my way and every time I pushed the button, he's there for me. He makes my job a lot easier.

"I worked him last week behind horses to make sure he could take dirt, schooled him a little bit. He was a complete gentleman. He's a nice horse. He'll do whatever: inside, outside, behind horses, in front. Kiaran has him in really great, great form.

"I was a little worried because he was actually too quiet compared to last time, but as soon as we left the gate, he turned on his game. After that, I was like, OK, I know what I've got now. I had nothing to be worried about after that."

Mohaymen completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.69 over a fast track. Conditioned by Kiaran McLaughlin, Mohaymen returned $5.10, $3.30, $2.50 as the favorite. Flexibility offered $4.60 and $3.30 to place and Gift Box paid $2.70 to show. The $2 exacta paid $19.60, the $2 trifecta was $43.20 and the $2 superfecta paid $101.00.

McLaughlin trained last year’s Remsen Stakes runner up, Frosted, who is also a son of Tapit. 

Kiaran McLaughlin was worried about Mohaymen’s state of mind, but commented post-race, "He's a very nice horse. Junior rode him great, he did everything right and it's a big win for the team. He did trickle [blood] a tiny bit last time, so we actually wait right up until they require Lasix to use it and today it worked out great. We also schooled him a lot at the gate after the way he acted last time. It was so unlike him, he had never shown anything like that at the gate when he reared up in there, so we did school him a bit coming up to this race and it worked out well. I was a little anxious when they were turning for home but it's great to win for Shadwell and I trained [Mohaymen's dam] Justwhistledixie, so it's special to have this horse be this good."

Mohaymen (Tapit - Justwhistledixie, by Dixie Union) was bred by Clearsky Farms  and sold for $2.2 million dollars at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale to Shadwell Stable. Mohaymen has a 3-3-0-0 ($345,000) race record, including a 1 ¾ length score in the one mile Nashua Stakes over his nemesis Flexibility and Sail Ahoy. The well-bred colt currently has 20 Kentucky Derby points.

By the nation’s leading sire Tapit, Mohaymen’s is out of the Dixie Union mare Justwhistledixie. The mare is a multiple Grade 2 stakes winner whose victories include the one mile Davona Dale and the 1 1/8 mile Bonnie Miss Stakes. Mohaymen is a half brother to 2013 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile hero New Year’s Day. 

Additionally, Mohaymen has Rasmussen Factor inbreeding (inbred to a blue hen within five generations) to Foggy Note through the full siblings Relaunch and Moon Glitter. Inbreeding to a blue hen has proven to be a positive breeding factor resulting in many high level stakes winners. Mohaymen has the pedigree and class to continue to be a major factor in next spring’s Classics.