SUMMER TARGET PENCILLED IN FOR TUFF TU MUS

By Graham Potter | Monday, August 4, 2025

David Vandyke has confirmed that Tuff Tu Mus has gone to the paddock after setting up a winning streak of seven successive wins which has left the All Too Hard gelding unbeaten since October 9, 2024.

An important, tentative target has also now been pencilled in for the five-year-old after he saluted at Eagle Farm on Saturday in his first attempt at 1815m.

“I don’t think he has the turn of foot to win a big race over a short course, and I just wanted to stretch him out over 1800m with that 1800m race on Magic Millions day in mind.

‘That’s what his target will be. Fingers crossed we can get him there.”

The back story of Tuff Tu Mus’s success is almost as interesting as his form-line.

“He had nine starts, but he has probably been to the races twenty-five times,” said Vandyke.

And, no, that doesn’t mean Tuff To Mus has been scratched at all. His role on many occasions has just been that of a constant visitor / observer at race-days which is all part of the strategy mapped out by Vandyke to overcome the horse’s race-day nerves.

“He was here last week. We bring him all the time,” continued Vandyke. “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.”

It is now all of thirty-one months since Tuff Tu Mus had his first barrier trail in December 2022 and, in some respects, he is still a work in progress. The fact that Tuff Tu Mus went from being oh so slowly brought along in the early part of his career to where his profile stands now is testament to amount of effort, focus and, above all, patience that the Vandyke team have put in to help Tuff Tu Mus to ultimately progress so well.

It was painstakingly slow early on. Tuff To 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.

“He had a couple of issues, and we were just nursing him along early …just giving him the time he needed … and I think that really made him,” explained Vandyke.

“Even at his age now he is still maturing mentally. Physically he is not maturing at all … he is the finished product, but mentally he has still got a way to go.

“It is interesting because I don’t know where the ceiling is with him. I’m not sure how good he is because he is not putting them away, but he just keeps on winning.”

After those four trails, Tuff Tu Mus came out and finished second in his first two starts … he was only just touched off in his second outing … and he then began his unbeaten run of seven wins which have come over 1200m to 1815m.

It should also be noted that Tuff Tu Mus carried the steadying burden of 60kg in four of those victories.

The fact that those seven successive wins have all come at Metropolitan meetings has sent statisticians scurrying to see who else has achieved that feat, apart from Winx and Black Caviar, of course … and, remember, Tuff Tu Mus might not be finished yet.

Tuff Tu Mus, who was a $140 000 purchase from the MM Gold Coast National Yearling sale, has earned $239 700 in prize-money from his nine starts via seven wins and two second places.

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