Unit Five Storms Home To Claim A$3 Million Classic

[Wandering Eyes]

by TTR AusNZ/Tom Baddock

Unit Five (Supido) delivered a stunning boilover in the A$3 million R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic at the Gold Coast on Saturday, after a perfectly judged ride from Thomas Stockdale to give Ciaron Maher his third victory in the lucrative juvenile feature and cap a remarkable fairytale for a modestly priced colt.

In a race dominated by pre-race controversy around the scratching of odds-on favourite Warwoven (Sword of State) and what winning chances were left, Stockdale kept his nerve aboard Unit Five, settling the colt worse than midfield along the rail after he was a touch slow into stride. As the field fanned across the track searching for clear air on the home turn, Stockdale made the decisive call to stick closer to the inside.

That decision proved pivotal. When the gap opened, Unit Five exploded through it, quickly putting the race to bed. He surged clear late to defeat his more fancied stablemate Tornado Valley (Too Darn Hot) by just over a length, with the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained By Choice (Written By) finishing bravely in third a narrow margin away.

The victory was made all the more remarkable given Unit Five came into the race with just one run under his belt, having secured his place in the field with a dominant win in the A$250,000 Magic Millions Victorian 2YO Classic. Incredibly, no horse had won the Gold Coast Classic off a last-start Victorian run since 1991.

For Stockdale, the win marked the biggest success of his riding career.

“It is just a thrill – what a warhorse,” Stockdale said. “To be back on the paint like he was. It felt like I was tracking the right horses, he was always comfortable but to let rip back to the inside, geez! What a feeling.

“I always thought he'd be a nice horse competing in nice races but you still have to see it on the day. He was the ultimate professional and I have to thank Ciaron and the ownership group – what they have done for me is just unreal. My wife back home is heavily pregnant with our first child so, I'll be home soon baby!”

Maher, who previously won the race with Away Game (Snitzel) and Coolangatta (Written Tycoon), was full of praise for both horse and rider, while acknowledging the significance of the result from a commercial standpoint.

“He was A$80,000 – so it just doesn't matter,” Maher said. “One of my horses is probably by the hottest stallion and Unit Five is by one that's not the most commercial… well maybe he is now! Tommy Stockdale rode him unbelievably. It was a great ride.”

“I just can't thank all the owners, from both horses, enough. I said to Thomas, 'you probably know the horse better than I do, you've ridden him a lot more than me'. I just told him it's a 2-year-old race around the Gold Coast, you just break as quick as you can and then you work it out from there, and he made the right choice.

“It's all about presenting these horses still on the up. I still had Tornado Valley beating him but it's just fantastic. I'm very proud.”

  Pedigree Notes

Unit Five was purchased for A$80,000 by Ciaron Maher Bloodstock from the draft of Widden Stud at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Unit Five is the second foal and first winner from En Aval (Toorak Toff), a winning half-sister to the dam of juvenile stakes winner Bellazaine (Zousain) and hails from the family of Group 2 winner Villa Verde, herself the dam of Group 3-winning filly My Gladiola (I Am Invincible).

En Aval has proven an outstanding investment for her connections, having been purchased online for just A$9,500, and has since produced a A$300,000 Anders colt at the 2024 Magic Millions Sale. She has a foal at foot by Exceedance and visited Schwarz last spring.

 

 

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