Mohaymen Heads South After Remsen Victory

Shadwell Stable's Mohaymen emerged from his Nov. 28 Remsen Stakes (gr. II) victory in good shape, according to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin the morning of Nov. 29.



Armed with an undefeated three-for-three record, which now includes two graded stakes victories, the Tapit   2-year-old was en route Sunday morning to join McLaughlin's Florida string to gear up for his sophomore campaign.

LEWYN: Unbeaten Mohaymen Easily Takes Remsen



McLaughlin was understandably pleased with Mohaymen's performance, not to mention his pupil's much-improved manners since his first grade II win in the Nashua under regular jockey Junior Alvarado Nov. 4 at Aqueduct Racetrack.



"That was big," he said of the Nashua. "Junior had worked him behind horses. You never know, but you need to be ready for it. I think it helped a lot, for jockey and horse, because (Junior) was confident that he'd handle it. It was great. It was a mile and an eighth and he finished strong. He's a really nice horse."



Mohaymen will be joined at McLaughlin's Palm Meadows Training Center winter base by Futurity (gr. I) winner Annual Report, who finished fifth in a sloppy running of the Kentucky Jockey Club (gr. II) Saturday at Churchill Downs.



"We went to Churchill with Annual Report to see how he'd like the track, but we can't learn anything from that. It was under water, there was so much rain," McLaughlin said of the Godolphin-owned son of Harlan's Holiday. "He was wide and didn't get beat that bad, but Joe Bravo rode him and said he kept slipping, because he would go and stop. It was kind of a funny race. We'll just draw a line through it."



The trainer also reported Marking, a race-day scratch from Saturday's Cigar Mile (gr. I), was in good order and will be pointed to the Malibu (gr. I) Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park.



"(We scratched) because he drew (post 1) and it was a lot for him to fight off," McLaughlin said. "I think we did the right thing. He's only run twice (and) he's just a 3-year-old. We'll go to the Malibu in California. It's for straight 3-year-olds at seven-eighths."



Meanwhile, McLaughlin is continuing to make plans for an expected string based in Dubai this spring to join Dubai World Cup (UAE-I)-aimed Frosted. While the small contingent is not likely to consist of either of his barn's Triple Crown contenders, it could include Marking.

Beginning in 1993, McLaughlin spent 10 years years between Dubai and New York working for Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Hamdan and won three training titles at Nad Al Sheba racecourse.