Third Magic Millions 2YO Classic triumph for Maher as Unit Five makes history on the Gold Coast
Ciaron Maher once again proved himself an exceptional trainer of juveniles when exciting colt Unit Five, a son of Widden Stud sire Supido (Sebring), claimed Saturday’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) at the Gold Coast, becoming the first horse to land the race on only his second start.
Bought by Maher for a mere $80,000 at last year’s Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Unit Five went into the $3m scamper after only one previous race – a debut 2.5-length win in Caulfield’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1100m) on December 20.
Such a light preparation was unprecedented for a winner of the Gold Coast’s two-year-old highlight but Unit Five – who won a tune-up barrier trial at the Gold Coast 12 days before Saturday – validated Maher’s judgment in emphatic style.
Unit Five was expertly ridden by renaissance jockey Thomas Stockdale, jumping from gate seven in a field reduced to 13 by three scratchings – including the race morning vet-enforced withdrawal of favourite Warwoven (Sword Of State) due to lameness.
Stockdale eased his mount back to settle fourth-last on the fence as an even tempo was set up front by Itchintogo (Sun City).
Entering the straight, Stockdale followed stablemate and $4.40 second favourite Tornado Valley (Too Darn Hot) and his rider Ethan Brown as they made a move two horses off the fence.
But when switched into ample room on the inside, Unit Five burst powerfully to the lead to have the race in his keeping at the 100m.
The bay sprinted home to score by 1.11 lengths as fellow colt Tornado Valley gave another glowing endorsement for the Maher touch by taking second.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott team’s third-stringer from a three-horse contingent, filly By Choice (Written By), was 0.03 lengths further back in third at $11 ahead of $61 outsider Double Cool (Cool Aza Beel).
Tulloch Lodge’s other two runners Knightsbridge (Farnan) and Shiki (Too Darn Hot) were fifth and seventh at $11 and $6.50 respectively, while $3.30 favourite Zip Lock (Hellbent) split that pair.
It was an emotional Maher who spoke to the media after his third win in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic in seven editions, following the successes of Away Game (Snitzel) in 2020 and Coolangatta (Written Tycoon) in 2022.
While Tornado Valley was having his fourth start and Unit Five his second, mega trainer Maher agreed the key to individually training two-year-olds was “not giving them too much [work] but just enough”.
“That’s the trick. They’re not conditioned to racing much,” he said.
“Myself and the whole team were quite confident that Unit Five, after one start, we were going to bring him up, give him a look at the track, trial this way around, and go in fresh.
“You want them still improving rather than getting there and not being able to do it.
“I was pretty confident with both of our runners. I was leaning towards the other one, to be honest.”
Maher, who has 579 named horses on his books spread over nine locations – plus “a heap” more bought at the Magic Millions Yearling Sale in the past week – paid tribute to his staff and especially his brother Declan, who now trains his own small team at the Gold Coast and helped prepare Unit Five for Saturday.
“Brother Dec put a lot of work into Unit Five, to get him here, and present and race like that at his second start. I don’t think that’s ever been done before [in the Gold Coast 2YO Classic]. It’s awesome,” Maher said.
“I can say ‘I’ve done it again’, but when you’ve got a large business it all comes down to your staff. And Dec. Awesome.”
He added: “Tommy Stockdale is a little ripper. He does a lot of work for us. Tommy’s starting to get into a habit of winning big races.
“He and Browny [Ethan Brown, rider of the runner-up] are good, hard-working blokes with good ability. I like working with people like that.”
Stockdale said he was confident before the race despite Unit Five’s light lead-up, having ridden him in his Gold Coast trial.
“I thought this guy’s trial was something to be reckoned with, and I shut him down early because he was going to show them up too much and possibly do too much,” he said. “I couldn’t wait to get up here today and see him today.
“[In the race] I was on the back of the right horses and I had to pick which one was right to take me in.
“For a young horse to go back to the rail by themselves and then to put them away shows how mature he is, and he’s a two-year-old to be reckoned with in the autumn.”
The 26-year-old Stockdale, who’s yet to win beyond Group 3 level but took Pakenham’s $1m Supernova (1400m) on the Maher-trained Warnie (Highland Reel) last month, was also emotional after the victory, offering thanks to his wife Lily – who’s heavily pregnant with the couple’s first child – and to Maher for their support.
“The last month-and-a-half has just been unreal,” he said. “I sound like a broken record but Ciaron’s support has just changed my career.
“I’ve always wanted to be competing on the biggest stages and riding in the biggest races but my weight has held me back from that, but I’ve always stuck to my work.
“I don’t know if he [Maher] realises what his support means.”
He added: “My wife has seen the best of me and the worst of me through this game. With Ciaron’s support it’s only made me a better rider, and through the support of my wife, she’s just made me a better man. I can’t wait to get home and give her a hug.”
There is emotion, too, in the name of the colt.
Unit Five was bred by Widden’s stud manager Ben Walsh, nominations manager Matt Comerford, yearling manager Liam Attwood, financial manager Andrew Swales, and former team member Jarrod Robinson. The group bought the colt’s dam En Aval (Toorak Toff) via Magic Millions online for only $9,500 in 2021.
With his breeders staying in the ownership when Unit Five was sold out of Widden’s Gold Coast draft last year, the colt is named after long-serving Widden staff member David Merrick, who died last February, and whose callsign on the stud’s two-way radio system was “unit five”.
The result was a timely one for Supido. Unit Five is his third stakes winner after dual black-type victor Buenos Noches and Flemington Listed winner What You Need.
Supido has 97 winners from 150 runners and stood for $9,900 (inc GST) last spring, down from $16,500 (inc GST).
The win by Unit Five was the second winner on the Gold Coast card for a two-year-old out of a daughter of Toorak Toff (Show A Heart), after filly Toorak Jewel (Tassort), a daughter of Toorak Rose, took the $500,000 The Debut (1000m).
Unit Five is the second foal of En Aval, who won twice. The mare’s colt by Anders (Not A Single Doubt) will be offered as part of the Widden draft at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale in March. The youngster is catalogued as Lot 34.
En Aval now has a filly foal by Exceedance (Exceed And Excel) and was covered by Schwarz (Zoustar) last spring.
Tigroni (Tiger Of Malay) finished ninth in the 2YO Classic but won the lion’s share of the Magic Millions Racing Women’s Bonus, banking $333,334 for her all-female ownership group.