Tuz overcomes trouble to shock in Golden Shaheen

A few incidents of trouble could not prevent Tuz from a commanding upset win in the Group 1 Golden Shaheen Sprint at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Saturday.

Racing prominently on the inside, Tuz closed from third in the final quarter-mile to take the lead with less than a furlong remaining. Tuz quickly burst clear to prevail by 6 1/2 lengths over 9-1 Don Frankie.

Tuz, who paid $19 in American pools, ran six furlongs in 1:10.91 under jockey Tadhg O’Shea. Nakatomi, third in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita last November for trainer Wesley Ward, finished third at 7-1.

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Remake was the 2-1 favorite in American pools, and finished fourth, closing from well off the pace.

The $2 million Golden Shaheen was the first Group 1 win for Tuz, who has won seven of 20 starts in a fascinating career.

Tuz was always near pacesetter Don Frankie through the first half-mile and was checked slightly on the turn and again in early stretch before O’Shea found a clear path.

“There wasn’t much room to maneuver down the lane,” O’Shea told a television audience. “When we straightened out, I was a length down. I gave him a squeeze and he responded immediately.”

Nakatomi had by far the best result of five American-trained runners in the field.

Run Classic, winner of the Gulfstream Park Sprint on Feb. 24, finished seventh. Bold Journey, a two-time stakes winner at Aqueduct at the end of 2023 who was third in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint, finished 10th.

Sibelius, who won the 2023 Golden Shaheen for Florida-based trainer Jeremiah O’Dwyer, finished 11th, a position in front of Hopkins, who was second in the Grade 3 Palos Verdes Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 10.

Tuz, a 7-year-old Kentucky-bred by Oxbow, races for Dakki Stable and trainer Bhupat Seemar, who is based in Dubai. Seemar, 47, had the best day of his career on Saturday. Later on the program, he won the $12 million Dubai World Cup with Laurel River.

Tuz, seventh in the 2023 Golden Shaheen, had mixed form earlier this year in Group 3 races at six furlongs, winning the Dubawi Stakes by 8 1/2 lengths on Jan. 5 at Meydan, but finishing 10th of 11 in the $1.5 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 24 on a surface O’Shea said was deeper than the gelding preferred.

Seemar said he was encouraged when Tuz drew an inside post in the Golden Shaheen.

“When he got the rail, I though he would be tough to beat,” Seemar said.

“He was on his home track and his ground. This horse has so much natural speed. His weapon is his speed. He’s very fast.”

Tuz was purchased for a mere $7,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September yearling sale. He began his career in Russia in the summer and fall of 2019 where he won his first three races by a combined 64 lengths.

Tuz has been based in Dubai since the winter of 2019-2020.

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