Unite And Conquer earned a comparison with three Golden Slipper winners as the colt protected an unblemished record in a key Magic Millions lead-up race at Wyong.
Stepping out for the first time since winning the Maribyrnong Trial Stakes on debut at Flemington in October, Unite And Conquer made easy work of his task in the $200,000 Magic Millions Wyong 2YO Classic.
As well as giving co-trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott enough reason to rate him alongside Tulloch Lodge stars of the past, Unite And Conquer also confirmed his favouritism for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic.
He shortened from $6 to $4.50 to become Waterhouse’s fifth Classic winner when the $2 million race is run at the Gold Coast on January 12.
“He’s a big, imposing type. Muscle on muscle. He’s a real speed horse,” Bott said.
Bott said Waterhouse had remarked that Unite And Conquer possessed similar traits to her Golden Slipper-winning colts Sebring, Pierro and Vancouver.
“He is showing all the same qualities as all those special colts have shown before,” the co-trainer said.
“He’s got a fantastic attitude and hopefully he’s another one for us going forward.”
Unite And Conquer stifled betting as a $1.65 favourite and there was barely a moment of concern as the $80,000 yearling purchase cruised to the front.
Some inexperience showed late in race when Unite And Conquer drifted off course but jockey Adam Hyeronimus said the result was never in doubt.
Unite And Conquer had 1-1/4 lengths to spare over Exhilarates ($14) with Spaceboy ($7) taking the minor placing.
“He just wandered in when he hit the front but he was dominant today, a lot of upside,” Bott said.
Since its inception in 2003, the Wyong race Classic has provided three Magic Millions Classic winners.
The most recent of those was Capitalist who turned out to be the best two-year-old of the 2015-16 season after training on to win the Golden Slipper.
