Unit Five, Torque to Be Sure Earn Lucrative Aussie Wins

Ciaron Maher again proved himself an exceptional trainer of juveniles when exciting colt Unit Five (AUS), a son of Widden Stud sire Supido (AUS), claimed the Magic Millions 2YO Classic Jan. 17 at the Gold Coast, becoming the first horse to land the race off of just one previous start. While the race does not carry a grade and is restricted to juveniles sold at Magic Millions sales, it does offer a lucrative purse of AU$3 million (US$2.01 million, AU$1=US$0.67). Bought by Maher for a mere $80,000 at last year's Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Unit Five went into the 1,200-meter (about 6-furlong) scamper after only one previous race—a debut 2 1/2-length win Dec. 20 in Caulfield's Magic Millions 2YO Classic. Such a light preparation was unprecedented for a winner of the Gold Coast's 2-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 7 in a field reduced to 13 by three scratches—including the race morning vet-enforced withdrawal of favorite Warwoven due to lameness. 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 in 2020 and Coolangatta (AUS) in 2022. He said the key to individually training 2-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." 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 AU$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 call sign on the stud's two-way radio system was "unit five". Plenty of Torque Torque to Be Sure (AUS), a son of Shamus Award (AUS), broke his maiden with a welcome feature race win for his Rosemont Stud sire in a dramatic victory in Saturday's Magic Millions 3YO Guineas, surviving a protest to beat hot favorite Ninja (AUS). Like the juvenile race, the 1,400-meter (about 7-furlong) stakes is restricted to Magic Millions grads and is not graded but offers a lucrative purse of AU$3 million. Bought by Dunn and Neil Jenkinson for AU$260,000 from Attunga Stud's draft at the Gold Coast in 2024, Torque to Be Sure mixed some handy unplaced runs with his placings en route to Saturday's breakthrough. Torque to Be Sure is the ninth foal of Elimbari (Fastnet Rock), who won one of her 13 starts, at Rosehill Gardens, and was group 3-placed for trainer and co-breeder Kris Lees, who's also a co-breeder for Torque to Be Sure.