Unit Five books Gold Coast trip for 2026 Magic Millions Classic
Magic Millions ambitions are firmly in sight for Unit Five after the two-year-old produced a dominant debut performance at Caulfield Heath.
Trained by Ciaron Maher, the son of Supido captured the Magic Millions VIC 2YO Classic (1100m), securing qualification for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1200m) at the Gold Coast on January 17.
Sent out favourite at $2.70, Unit Five travelled strongly under Thomas Stockdale before accelerating away to defeat Ko Phangan ($41) by 2-¼ lengths, with Invincible Son ($6) finishing a further 1-¼ lengths away in third.
Maher said the colt’s race-day composure stood out, particularly given his recent jump-out at Cranbourne earlier in the week.
“I’m just rapt in the horse’s progression,” Maher said.
“We normally wouldn’t trial them that close, but he seems to find things easy.
“I can’t thank my team enough. I think that’s our fourth pre-Christmas two-year-old winner for the year, so the system is working very well and I’m very thankful for them as at this time of year, the two-year-olds is what it’s all about.”
Maher said Unit Five, named in memory of long-serving Widden Stud manager David Merricks, had shown enough professionalism to warrant a Gold Coast campaign.
Although Tornado Valley currently leads the stable’s Magic Millions pecking order, Maher said Unit Five would be given every opportunity.
“This bloke, timing wise, we thought we could then send him to Sydney and then he would be on the right leg for the Millions, but we’ll see how he comes through,” Maher said.
“He’s just so professional and I loved the way he presented and behaved himself in the yard.
“He was very calm behind the gates. He bounced and made Tom’s job pretty easy.
“Tom had a good winner for us the other day and he’s starting to make a habit of it, so it’s good to be associated with him.”
Stockdale believes the colt still has plenty of improvement to come.
“I didn’t let him off the chain too much at Cranbourne bearing in mind this was a possibility,” Stockdale said.
“It was great to see him extend off the bridle, which I hadn’t seen before, and he will improve.
“He’s still very raw, still very ‘looky’, but he has the natural talent to progress into a nice horse.”
Early betting interest in Unit Five’s Magic Millions campaign is available via the Australian betting sites list.
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