Dubai: Mohaymen must accomplish what only two horses before him have succeeding in doing — that is win Saturday’s Group 1 Kentucky Derby, the king of all horse races, from the unflattering 14th gate.

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin’s imposing grey colt, who has won five of his six starts, will also bid to become the first horse since Carry Back in 1961 to prove that a true champion can triumph from any one of the 20 starting positions on the famous barrier.

A former champion trainer in the UAE during his decade-long stint, McLaughlin is not losing any sleep over the post that his horse drew for a race and is even taking some positives out of it.

“We’re happy. He’ll be the last one in the main gate, so it’s great,” the American said after Wednesday’s Post Position draw. “There’s a little space between the two gates. There are a lot worse posts, so we’re happy.”

Mohaymen is one of two horses in the 2,000-metre contest racing under the banner of Shadwell, the breeding arm of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance.

Shagaf, who is trained by Chad Brown, also lines up as he bids to gift his owner with a maiden victory in a race that he has long sought after winning.

The Shadwell duo face 18 rivals led by the Doug O’Neil-trained favourite Nyquist, the horse who handed Mohaymen the only defeat of his career when successful in the Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on April 2.

However, McLaughlin, once again showed his fabulous optimism when he said during track work at Churchill Downs earlier this week: “We still have confidence in him. He only had a bad minute, 49 seconds in his whole life.

“We feel like he will rebound and run his ‘A’ race,”

“I lost a little confidence after the race. Now that he’s happy and sound and has good energy, I have a lot of confidence again. I feel like we’re going to run a big race.”

A $2.2 million (Dh8.1 million) yearling purchase by Shadwell Stable in fall 2014, Mohaymen made a winning debut at Belmont Park last September and went on to capture the Nashua and the Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct to finish his juvenile season with three wins.

He continued his winning form when taking the Holy Bull Stakes and the Fountain of Youth before the Florida Derby defeat.

Junior Alvarado, who has been on board in all six previous races, will again ride Mohaymen.

McLaughlin also has some unfinished business in the Kentucky Derby having trained the Godolphin-owned Frosted to finish fourth behind American Pharoah in the race 12 months ago.

However, the American has some good memories of Churchill Downs, a track where he celebrated his greatest victory when Shaikh Hamdan’s Invasor won the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2006.

The Argentinian-bred won the Dubai World Cup as well in 2007 and also won an Eclipse Award for top owner that year.

Rick Nichols, Shaikh Hamdan’s bloodstock advisor, who picked out Mohaymen at Keeneland’s September 2014 yearling sale for Shaikh Hamdan is also confident that the colt can repay his owner by winning on Saturday, despite his Florida Derby setback.

“I think on Derby Day you’ll see different horses in both Mohaymen and Shagaf,” he said.

KENTUCKY DERBY FACT BOX

At: Churchill Downs, USA

Post Time: (Sunday 2.34am UAE time)

Grade: I

Distance: 2,000 metres

Total Purse $2,391,600

First $1,631,600

Second $400,000

Third $200,000

Fourth $100,000

Fifth: $60,000