Ciaron Maher quipped it was satisfying to beat his great mate Tony Gollan, as jockey Ethan Brown produced a ten-out-of-ten ride to storm to glory in the $1m Magic Millions Syndicate race.
After watching Gollan train a brace of winners early on the rich Gold Coast card, Maher pinched back some bragging rights when sometimes maligned sprinter Spywire came up with the goods.
Aided by a peach of a ride from visiting Victorian young gun Ethan Brown, four-year-old Spywire ($6) ran over the top of his rivals in the Gold Coast straight with Gollan having to make do with second and fourth with King Kapa and Golden Boom respectively.
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Spywire cost $520,000 as a yearling and started at $8.50 in the 2024 Gold Coast Magic Millions 2YO Classic, finishing five lengths off Storm Boy.
Racing in the Ozzie Kheir colours and with plenty of other heavy hitters in the ownership, Spywire has sometimes not been able to bridge the gap between potential and performance.
But he delivered in spades on the big stage at the Magic Millions in the 1100m dash.
Spywire has its day! ☀️ Wins for @cmaherracing at the Gold Coast 🏆 pic.twitter.com/fFF6731iL1
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 10, 2026
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“It was good to beat Tony (Gollan), he’s hard to beat today, and we needed to bring the birthday boy down a peg,” Maher quipped.
“We didn’t know if the horse was eligible for this race but we found out he was, thankfully.
“Last start he threw the jockey off before the race and he was completely loose.
“He was in a completely different headspace that day and a completely different headspace today.
“It was a beautiful ride from Browny.
“He was one out, one back and following the favourite.
“You don’t get much better than that.”
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Brown suffered a life-threatening fall in 2023 but has fought his way back to the top of the jockey ranks and there are few hoops riding with more confidence.
He credited powerhouse trainer Maher for playing an important role in his career.
“I say it every time I ride a winner for him – he’s backed me all the way through and he gives me plenty of confidence,” Brown said.
“I seem to gel well with his horses.
“I was speaking to Ciaron and he said this horse had a bit of a bee in his bonnet last start pre-race and he probably ran accordingly on that day.
“But he was primed today and Ciaron had him in perfect order.”