The return of the David Vandyke trained Tuff Tu Mus will add significant interest to the running of the Listed Recognition Stakes at Doomben on Saturday.
The son of All Too Hard has won seven races on the trot, a sequence which has left the five-year-old unbeaten since October 2024.
But as impressive as Tuff Tu Mus’s seven wins and two, close-up runner-up finishes from only nine starts have been, the journey has been anything but smooth sailing from the trainer’s point of view.
Speaking after Tuff Tu Mus’ last win on August 2, Vandyke confirmed that Tuff Tu Mus had been a serious work in progress for a long time citing an unusual pattern he followed with the horse to help bring him up to speed with what it means to be a racehorse.
“He had nine starts, but he has probably been to the races twenty-five times,” offered Vandyke, explaining a strategy devised to help Tuff Tu Mus overcome his race-day nerves by allowing him to just visit and observe the general race-day activity without participating in a race.
“We bring him (to the track) all the time. My staff have done an outstanding job with him. They have absolutely cuddled him … looked after him … and we are seeing the benefit of that.”
The ‘work in progress’ was painstakingly slow early on. Tuff Tu Mus had three barrier trials over a seven-month period between December 2022 to July 2023 … and then he was put out the paddock again before for a full year before returning for his fourth trial in July 2024. All of that without tasting race action.
That meant Tuff Tu Mus did not race as a two-year-old and he did not race as a three-year-old … but, when he did get started, Tuff Tu Mus wasted little time in making up for lost ground.
Now, again, Vandyke has exercised patience giving Tuff Tu Mus two trials since his last run in readiness for Saturday’s engagement.
Tuff Tu Mus will now step up to the more testing Listed company for the first time on Saturday. It will be Tuff Tu Mis’ toughest task yet over a distance short of his best.
He resumes first-up over 1350m after close to a four-month break from race action in a contest which is designed to be a stepping stone to help carry him, all being well, to a Magic Millions day assignment on January 17.
Tiffani Brooker, who has one win from two rides on Tuff Tu Mus, will be in the saddle on Saturday.
In an open betting race Tuff Tu Mus is currently on the second line of betting at $5 behind the race favourite, the Tony Gollan trained Boomtown Boss ($4.60).
