He was the most inexperienced horse in the field but the Ciaron Maher-prepared Unit Five ($8) has taken out the Magic Millions 2YO Classic on the Gold Coast.
Perfectly steered by hoop Thomas Stockdale, the son of Supido proved too strong for stablemate Tornado Valley ($4.40) by one length on the line, with the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained filly By Choice ($11) only a short half-head back in third.
Unit Five had only raced once prior to saluting in the $3 million feature on Saturday, winning impressively at Caulfield on debut. Stockdale was in the irons on that occasion and was more than happy to follow his mount up the coast.
A relatively cheap yearling purchase of $80,000, the win now takes his earnings over the $1.8 million mark and he looks to have plenty of opportunities to continue to add to that tally.
Trainer Ciaron Maher was full of praise for his team and also his brother Declan, who has his own training facilities on the Gold Coast.
“It all comes down to your team and your staff,” Maher said.
“My brother Dec, it has been fantastic for him to have a stable here and let me stay in it and utilise his staff and his knowledge. A lot of credit has to go to him.”
Maher wasn’t concerned that his charge had only one start prior to Saturday’s feature.
“History is history, it is just about presenting the horse,” Maher said.
“They are only very young and still on the up.”
Maher had full trust in Stockdale getting the job done given he had been involved with the colt from day one.
“Tommy Stockdale, unbelievable. Beautiful ride, he made the right choices,” Maher said.
“I said to Tom that he probably knows the horse better than I do. I said it is a two-year-old race around the Gold Coast.
“You brake as quick as you can and then you work it out from there.”
The win was extra special for Stockdale, who is expecting his first child.
“My wife back home, she’s heavily pregnant with our first child,” Stockdale said.
“I’ll be home soon baby. Let’s just hope she wasn’t jumping around too much.”
