The Maher stable would ideally have waited another week before unveiling their two-year-old prospect Unit Five, but the promising Supido youngster has forced their hand. After another strong Cranbourne jump-out earlier this week, he will debut in Saturday’s Magic Millions VIC 2YO Classic (1100m) at Caulfield Heath.
National Assistant Trainer Jack Turnbull said Unit Five’s natural athleticism made the shorter turnaround manageable.
“He’s unbeaten in his jump-outs and he’s physically the type that can head to the races off a short turnaround,” Turnbull said.
“It’s never ideal and you would like to go 12 days in a perfect world, but there’s no written rule.
“The race has come up fairly light, and we look one of the better ones from the trials, along with Guest House, going into it.”
Unit Five has shown strong signs at home and in public, winning a Cranbourne jump-out with Ethan Brown before another smooth showing under Thomas Stockdale, who retains the ride.
“We instructed Tom to get a feel and not get to the bottom of him with the view of running him on Saturday,” Turnbull said.
“He’s bounced through the run. He’s a spritely, outgoing type of horse, and he’s been like that since the jump-out.”
While the Magic Millions 2YO Classic remains a possibility, Maher Racing have fallback options.
“The other option for him is there is a $150,000 race over 1000 metres at Cranbourne as a back-up,” Turnbull said.
“He could potentially head north, but everything would have to fall into place.
“So, he could run Saturday, or the following Saturday, and then if you run top two you are pretty much qualified and then you can look north.”
Early markets have Unit Five at $2.80 favourite in front of Guest House at $3.20 with online bookmakers.
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