Tough gelding Tuff Tu Mus back winning races after struggling with pre-race anxiety
Tuff Tu Mus means 'bloody tough' in Bislama, the national language of Vanuatu where his owner Fordham, who hails from small town Croppa Creek near Moree in northern NSW, runs a kava factory.
The four-year-old was meant to compete in this year's winter carnival but plans went awry when he started to sweat up before races and became jittery at the track.
However, Sunshine Coast trainer David Vandyke changed the diet for Tuff Tu Mus and made some management tweaks which have seemingly solved the anxiety issues for the son of All Too Hard who has won his past five races.
Tuff Tu Mus triumphed in his last start at Doomben, where he is unbeaten, in a Benchmark 85 (1350m) earlier this month and will next race at the same track in a Class 6 over 1600m on July 12.
'We didn't run him in any big races this winter because of his behaviour before and after the races,' said Fordham from Luganville in Vanuatu on Wednesday.
'I'm excited about the next winter carnival and the opportunities for the horse and he will have a season of racing experience behind him.
'This was his first season, so we've learnt a lot about the horse.
'We have three jockeys that have ridden him for his five wins (from seven races) which gives us more choices when weights become an issue.'
It is an amazing turnaround considering that veterinarians told Fordham there was a high chance the tenacious horse would never even get to the races after he had cut himself 'to the bone' as a two-year-old.
'There was about a 40 per cent chance (of never racing) so we sent him to the doctors in Gatton and they nursed him for two weeks and got him back,' said Fordham, who bought Tuff Tu Mus for $140,000 at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
'Six or eight months later we got him ready again and there were no signs of soreness or anything.
'We were getting him ready for Magic Millions and there was another race at Doomben.
'A few days before the race, Dave rings up and says 'the horse has cut his tendon'. We doctored him up again and gave him time until he was a four-year-old.
'Now there are no signs of the cut, no swelling, no soreness. It all seems to have healed itself.'
It was a frightening moment for Fordham but nothing compared to the terror of three powerful earthquakes - with magnitudes of 7.8, 7.7 and 7.3 - that hit Vanuatu in October 2009, sparking a tsunami warning and sending thousands of Pacific islanders scurrying for shelter on higher ground.
'She was a rattler,' said Fordham, who owns a kava factory in Luganville, the Pacific nation's second largest city behind capital Port Vila.
'A few of the internal walls in the house cracked and broke.
'You could see the roof lift up. It cut a house just down the road from us in half, one part of the house was two feet below the other.
'It separated the bridge from the river. Railway power lines were bent 90 degrees.
'We have a strong French-built house and I hit the ground and went under the doorway but I couldn't get to my feet.
'I got bounced around and I could hear everything crashing in the house. It went on for what seemed like minutes.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

News.com.au
5 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Trainer Matthew Dale eyes Flemington Group 3 return for Danny's St Darci in 2025 Aurie's Star Handicap
Goulburn trainer Matthew Dale is likely to bring consistent sprinter Danny's St Darci back to her previous home state for Saturday's Group 3 Aurie's Star Handicap (1200m) at Flemington. Danny's St Darci started her career in Victoria as part of the Archie Alexander stable at Ballarat where she was placed at Listed level before Dale's clients bought her for $70,000 last year. The rising seven-year-old has returned her buyers more than twice that amount in 12 months, courtesy of a Listed win in Brisbane and a pair of Group 3 placings in Melbourne and Sydney. Winning Saturday's Group 3 contest at Flemington would boost Danny's St Darci's broodmare value. Dale said the addition of blinkers and more aggressive race tactics were the key to Danny's St Darci's development. 'The biggest difference has been the blinkers and putting her into the race a little more than she was in the past,' Dale said. 'We decided to ride her to step her into gear with the blinkers and that really woke her up.' The Flemington 'Straight Six' course holds no fears for Danny's St Darci after her solid third in a Group 3 race during last year's Melbourne Cup Carnival. Danny's St Darci is set to tackle the Aurie's Star Handicap second-up after the mare beat one runner home when resuming in the July Sprint at Rosehill on July 19. Dale said Danny's St Darci was slightly disappointing first-up but noted she had only placed once in seven first-up attempts. A good ride from @RMaloney_Jockey aboard Danny's St Darci who wins the Listed Just Now at Eagle Farm for trainer Matt Dale ðŸ'Š — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 7, 2024 'Her first-up run was a little bit disappointing on face value but she had a few excuses there and she sort of builds into a preparation,' Dale said. 'Her form profile suggests she gets better as her prep goes on and, being an older mare now, I'd suggest that is more so. 'She's well travelled and well performed. 'We'll have a look at how she gallops on Tuesday and we'll have a look at the field. 'In the last two years, it's been a bit thin as there has only been about seven or eight runners in the race.' Danny's St Darci is one of 13 entries for the Aurie's Star Handicap with the impressive Grahame Begg -trained mare Splash Back likely to open favourite in 'all-in' markets on the $200,000 feature.

News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Rejuvenated Martin Harley hopes gun colt Cool Archie will define his career
A rejuvenated Martin Harley is hoping that gun colt Cool Archie can put him on the map in the same way that mighty mare Winx defined the career of fellow jockey Hugh Bowman. Irish hoop Harley returned to Brisbane on Saturday night after a much-needed holiday back home where he celebrated his epic Group 1 JJ Atkins (1600m) victory on Cool Archie at Eagle Farm last month with family and friends. Of course, Harley doesn't expect the Chris and Corey Munce -trained colt to win a world-record 33 consecutive races like the legendary Winx, but he knows that a quality horse like Cool Archie comes along once in a blue moon. Winx had six different riders during her illustrious career that netted more than $26m in prizemoney before her retirement in April 2019, but she will forever be associated with Bowman and champion Sydney trainer Chris Waller. Harley's JJ Atkins victory – which broke a 10-year drought since his last Group 1 – was just reward for his hard work, dedication and persistence after overcoming a potentially career-threatening broken neck suffered in a sickening mid-week race fall in 2023. 'The real exciting thing about having a serious injury two years ago to even being not sure if I'd ride again and then for him to do what he did and put me back on the Group 1 map, in a way he certainly has changed my life in different avenues,' Harley said. 'A lot of jockeys can win if they get the right animal but when you stumble across a horse like that, it could be real life-changing moving forward. 'Look at the Winx story regarding Hugh Bowman. And I'm not saying it'll be like that but he could be an Everest horse and (owner) Max Whitby obviously has a slot. 'There could be serious potential going forward so I'll keep my fingers crossed and we'll take it from there. To live the dream like that would be unbelievable.' Cool Archie WINS the G1 J.J. Atkins! ðŸ�† @munceracing — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 14, 2025 Whitby has declared that Cool Archie should be a shoo-in for Australian Two Year Old of the Year honours during a gala ceremony in Brisbane on August 31. 'I would definitely agree and not just because I've been riding him,' Harley said. 'For a horse to go from a maiden to a Group 1 winner in the space of two months - over all different distances and kinds of tracks - he has conquered more than any other two-year-old in Australia this year.' The father-and-son Munce partnership has said that Cool Archie would be spelled for the spring and set for next autumn's $4m Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick. It comes after a gruelling winter campaign in which the colt embarked on an incredible five-race winning streak in all conditions. • Rutledge's 'omen' win on The Irish written in the stars While Cool Archie is resting, a recharged Harley will be coming down from cloud nine to reset for the 2025-26 racing season in Brisbane which starts on Friday. Looking at the bigger picture, the affable Irishman hopes to travel interstate this spring carnival for a few feature races after proving he can handle the pressure of riding in majors. 'Sydney and Melbourne are tough, there are a lot of good jockeys there, but I'll be putting my hand up for a few rides down south if I can get them,' he said. 'You can get brought back to earth pretty quickly in this game but we showed them we can score at the top level and can get the job done in high-pressure races. 'But I'm definitely not getting too far ahead of myself. I had five Group 1 winners that came pretty quick and then it took another 10 years to crack it for my other one (in the JJ Atkins).' In the meantime, Harley can look back at that memorable day on June 14 when his dream of finally winning a Group 1 in Australia became reality. 'I went into the jockeys' room that day and I can honestly tell you, there wasn't one jockey who begrudged me the win,' he said. 'They were that happy for me and that made me even more proud.'

News.com.au
7 hours ago
- News.com.au
Brad Waters' best bets and value play for Pakenham Synthetic races on Monday
Form expert Brad Waters analyses Monday's Pakenham Synthetic meeting, presenting his best bets, value selection and jockey to follow.