Juvenile summary: Unit Five delivers fairytale Magic Millions victory

Cover image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography

Unit Five storms home to claim $3 million Classic

Unit Five (Supido) delivered a stunning boilover in the $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 {GB}) 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 $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 $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.”

Sales: Unit Five was purchased for $80,000 by Ciaron Maher Bloodstock from the draft of Widden Stud at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Pedigree: 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 $9,500, and has since produced a $300,000 Anders colt at the 2024 Magic Millions Sale. She has a foal at foot by Exceedance and visited Schwarz last spring.

Toorak Jewel blitzes them in Magic Millions Debut

Toorak Jewel (Tassort) produced a stunning debut performance to claim the $500,000 Magic Millions The Debut for 2-year-olds at the Gold Coast on Saturday, announcing herself as a serious juvenile prospect and delivering a win that suggests far bigger targets are within reach.

The filly had already marked herself as one to watch after bolting in by 10 lengths in a recent Gold Coast trial, and she carried that dominant form straight to raceday. With champion hoop James McDonald taking the ride, Toorak Jewel showed electric speed from the gates to settle outside the leader, handled early pressure with composure, and then surged clear in the straight in what was an excellent debut performance.

The manner of the victory suggested this was not merely a debut win, but the unvieling of a highly promising filly.

Trainer Paul Shailer was clearly impressed, but remained measured given it was a first starter.

“She has a bit of talent,” Shailer said.

“She used a bit of energy early in the race too to cross a horse that kicked up inside her and sustained a strong gallop. When James asked her to quicken she accelerated really nicely and looked like a filly with a fair bit of talent. I don’t want to get carried away, they are all first starters, but I certainly had a healthy respect for the form in the race with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott having horses in it. She has shown us a fair bit of talent for a while and it was good to get the job done.”

McDonald also praised the filly’s maturity and scope, saying the performance was a clear indication of her potential.

“That was special,” he said.

“He’s a great trainer and that’s a good indication of what Paul Shailer can do with a horse. For her to be so quiet but to jump and run like she does; she is like a 3-year-old and built like one. She has a lot going for her. If they can harness her a bit over six furlongs they are going to have a ball with her.”

Sales: Purchased for $36,000 by Mishani Enterprises Pty Ltd, Toorak Jewel was offered in Book 2 of the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale by Raheen Stud.

Pedigree: Toorak Jewel is the third foal and first winner for Toorak Toff mare Toorak Rose. Her second dam, Plans (Strategic), was a seven-time winner and finished runner-up in the G2 Sunline Stakes. While black-type is limited in the first three dams, the extended family traces back to champion sprinter and 8-time Group 1 winner Schillaci (Salieri).

Big Sky lives up to debut hype with dominant Flemington display

Big Sky (Bivouac) announced himself as a serious juvenile prospect with a soft but striking victory in the opening 2-year-old handicap at Flemington on Saturday, overcoming a lack of raceday polish to score convincingly.

Strong support and positive jump-out form had marked Big Sky as a colt of above-average ability, and while he showed his inexperience before the start, proving a little fired up behind the gates, that rawness did little to blunt his natural talent once the barriers opened.

Jumping cleanly under Jordan Childs, Big Sky used his natural speed to quickly establish a position outside the leader down the straight. Despite continuing to do a few things wrong through the middle stages, he travelled strongly beneath his rider, and when Childs asked him to lengthen inside the final 100 metres, the response was immediate. The colt exploded clear in a matter of strides, powering away to score by an authoritative two-and-three-quarter lengths.

Equal favourite Mirador (Brazen Beau) worked home soundly into second, while Boridi (Profiteer) boxed on gamely a further quarter of a length away in third.

Trainer Michael Kent Jnr was quick to acknowledge the colt’s greenness, while also praising the ride and the depth of ability on display.

“It worked out pretty well really,” Kent said.

“He did a lot wrong in the first part of the race but I thought Jordy rode him perfectly. The plan was to ride the horse first and the race second and just keep it smooth. He got across relatively easily - the horse has got natural speed.

“I guess the most impressive part was how he travelled deep into the race and then the acceleration was instant when he went for him, and he really ran right past the line.”

Kent also highlighted the significance of the performance given the testing nature of the assignment.

“It was his first start down the straight so it was a big effort,” he said.

“He’s quite an impressive horse. The stallion Bivouac is doing great things - they get better at three - so he’s an exciting horse. I’m not sure what path we will take but naturally the Blue Diamond Stakes is an obvious race.”

Big Sky’s win added further momentum to the rise of Bivouac, who has now sired 22 winners from 64 runners in Australia this season. With his headline act Beiwacht trialling at Randwick last week ahead of an autumn campaign, the former champion sprinter is quickly establishing himself as a stallion on a clear upward curve.

Sales: Big Sky was purchased for $140,000 by Mick Price Racing & Breeding from the draft of Eureka Stud at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Pedigree: Big Sky is the third foal out of Zoom By (Red Dazzler), a winning half-sister to stakes-winning filly Firenza (Kenny’s Best Pal). Zoom By is also closely related to blue hen Beauty World (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), who is responsible for multiple stakes winners including Hi World (High Chaparral {Ire}), Lite’n In My Veins (Henrythenavigator {USA}), Written Beauty (Written Tycoon), Ducimus (Snitzel) and Loveyamadly (Bel Esprit). The extended family further includes stakes winners Kiwia (Reset) and Immortal Love (Snitzel).

Zoom By visited Anamoe in the spring after foaling a colt by Spirit Of Boom.

Bivouac strikes twice as Outspan wins Rosehill opener

Outspan (Bivouac) delivered a professional and impressive performance in the opening 2-year-old handicap at Rosehill on Saturday, giving his sire an interstate juvenile double just 10 minutes after Big Sky’s dominant debut win at Flemington.

With rain arriving as forecast and the surface downgrading to a Soft 7, conditions were always going to place an emphasis on both experience and stamina. Heavily supported in betting, Outspan jumped cleanly under Sam Clipperton and quickly found a soft run in the box seat behind early leader Written In Munny (Written Tycoon), travelling comfortably despite the testing ground.

Approaching the home turn, Clipperton eased the colt off the fence and allowed him to build through his gears. Once balanced, Outspan proved far too strong, knuckling down resolutely to assert late and put the race beyond doubt. He went on to score by one-and-a-quarter lengths, holding off the late challenge of Long Throw (Brave Smash {Jpn}), who finished off well into second, with Miss Chanel (Tagaloa) a further half-length back in third.

Stable representative Sophie Johnson was impressed with the colt’s improvement and race execution.

“That was excellent. It was really good to see pre-race that he’d come on a lot since last start,” Johnson said. “Sam was able to get him into a great position just behind the lead. He settled really well actually and he was able to pop off heels and finish off strong.”

Clipperton said the experience gained in Outspan’s debut run had been invaluable.

“He had a beautiful educational run last start and I was a bit flat on myself because I thought I got it wrong,” Clipperton said.

“In the end it proved a lovely grounding for the horse to bounce off into today and he executed really well.”

Outspan finished fifth on debut behind Knightsbridge (Farnan), after settling well back in the field with Clipperton aboard. Saturday’s performance suggested he took significant benefit from that initial race-day experience and the best is yet to come.

Sales: Outspan is a homebred raced by Godolphin and was not offered for public auction.

Pedigree: Outspan is by Bivouac out of the stakes-winning Octagonal (NZ) mare Shannara, a sister to champion racehorse and influential sire Lonhro. Shannara has proven an outstanding producer, with seven foals to race for six winners, including G3 Kindergarten Stakes runner-up Jerle (Exceed and Excel). Shannara went back to Bivouac in 2025 after missing to Anamoe.

Daryte delivers standout WA juvenile performance for Portland Sky

Daryte (Portland Sky) produced one of the most impressive 2-year-old performances seen in Western Australia this season, taking out the Magic Millions 2YO Plate at Ascot on Saturday in commanding fashion. The win also marked a significant milestone for her young sire, Portland Sky.

Ridden by William Pike, Daryte settled in a stalking position behind the leaders and was kept in a comfortable rhythm through the early stages. Pike was able to steady her off heels at the perfect moment in the straight, and once balanced she burst clear with a sharp turn of foot to score with ease. The victory was visually impressive, with the filly appearing to win with plenty in hand.

The win was the first from just three starters for Portland Sky, the Group 1 winning son of Deep Field standing at Widden Stud.

Trainer Trevor Andrews admitted they were not overly confident heading into the race, but praised the filly’s work at home and in trials.

“What she has done in the trials and what she has done at home has been well above average,” Andrews said. “This filly was selected and purchased by Guy Mulcaster. He is famously known as the buyer of Winx and he does a lot of purchasing for Chris Waller so a very smart judge picked her out from the Scenic Lodge draft at the Magic Millions sale last year and paid just $55,000 for her, so kudos to him. All going well she will go onto a Magic Millions.”

Andrews indicated that the filly is likely to have one more start before the Pinjarra Magic Millions 2YO Classic in a month’s time, with the 1200-metre trip expected to suit her.

“She’s a lovely type of filly, a big scopey filly and I think out in trip will suit her even more!”

Sales: Daryte was purchased for $55,000 by Mulcaster Bloodstock at the 2025 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale from the draft of Scenic Lodge.

Pedigree: Daryte is by Portland Sky out of the Fastnet Rock mare I’m In Love, a half-sister to the three-time US stakes winner Scrumdidlyumptious (Roman Ruler {USA}). The filly is backed by a strong American family with black-type feature well-down the page.