Connections out to land a big catch with Calamari Ring
A fresh Calamari Ring (Street Boss) is ready to fry her Inglis Millennium (RL, 1100m) rivals according to her owner Leo To, who is hoping to net a $1.15 million payday with a filly he sourced for just $140,000 as a weanling.
To, who partnered with bloodstock agent Shane McGrath to purchase the daughter of Street Boss (Street Cry) at the 2024 Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale, recouped nearly twice his original investment when the Ciaron Maher-trained filly landed the Inglis Banner (RL, 1000m) at Flemington on debut at Flemington last November.
Once the provisional plan to target the Inglis Nursery (RL, 1000m) had been shelved due to a minor setback, Calamari Ring was instead diverted to the spelling paddock for a brief summer holiday before returning to Maher’s Sydney stables to commence her preparations for Saturday’s $2 million juvenile feature at Randwick.
Having witnessed the filly return to semi-competitive action with an eye-catching trial win at Warwick Farm in late January, To’s expectations naturally soared but his excitement was perhaps tempered at the barrier draw on Tuesday morning, when she was assigned the outside alley.
However, the Hong Kong expat remains quietly confident that Calamari Ring, whose half-sister by Rubick (Encosta De Lago) will form part of Two Bays Farm’s draft at the upcoming Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale as Lot 45, can preserve her unbeaten record and launch firmly into calculations for the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
“Of course the barrier draw isn’t ideal but the filly looks like she has come back very, very well,” To, who named Calamari Ring after his son’s favourite seafood dish, told ANZ News.
“It all depends on how she jumps: if she isn’t quickly away then she’ll probably have to go back because there’s usually a fast early pace in Sydney, especially in these two-year-old races. So that could make it difficult for her, but we’ll leave that to Jason [Collett], who is a very good jockey. Jason knows her well because he rode her in her trial two weeks ago, I was there that day and to me she looked fantastic.
“You always worry how two-year-olds are going to come back after a spell, so I was a little bit nervous but she was very impressive at the trial. Ciaron and his team have always liked her, so we did expect her to run well on debut. Her last jump-out leading into the race was very good, so even though I would have been very happy with a placing, it wasn’t a big surprise to us that she won that day.
“She has come back a bigger and stronger filly, so that’s a good sign for Saturday. A bit of rain would be nice before the race because she probably doesn’t want it too firm, but she won her jump-out on a good track so I don’t think it will matter too much either way.”
To will be accompanied at the races by some friends visiting from his native Hong Kong, with the group then due to head to the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale at the Riverside complex the following day.
Unlike his compatriots, however, To will merely be window shopping as the 45-year-old is intent on sticking to his tried and tested method of only purchasing horses through the weanling sales.
His theory is simple – not only is the asking price of a weanling statistically far lower than a yearling, you are generally also competing against a much smaller pool of buyers with shallower pockets.
“There is a lot less competition at the weanling sales, so I much prefer to shop there,” To said.
“The bigger stables like Ciaron Maher, Gai Waterhouse and Ciaron Maher don’t usually go shopping at the weanling sales, they have huge budgets to spend on yearlings so I prefer to stay away from them. It’s maybe more of a risk because you have to really look for potential in a weanling, because they have so much more growing to do both physically and mentally.
“But l like the challenge, and we’ve had some good success in the past. I bought five or six weanlings with Shane [McGrath] last year, and they have developed into nice yearlings so they should be going into their stables quite soon. We tend to buy more on type than pedigree, so you start with the physical specimen and go from there.
“I’m not put off by a lighter pedigree because you find that’s the case with most lots at a weanling sale. If a foal is by a leading stallion or is closely related to a stakes winner, usually they will be put up for auction at one of the bigger yearling sales. So you are shopping at the lower end of the market, but you can still get some really good results.”
For proof of that, look no further than the $21,000 purchase of Lot 244 at the 2021 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale, which marked one of To’s earliest forays into the weanling market under his Hall Of Fame banner.
His meagre outlay subsequently reaped spectacular as Kimochi (Brave Smash) would go on to become one of the country’s most consistent topline performers, winning the Light Fingers Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) and registering a further eight stakes placings for To before being put up for sale at the 2024 Inglis Chairman’s Sale.
Having been acquired by Yulong for $2.2 million, the mare went on to land a well-deserved first win at the highest level when she mowed down her rivals in the 2024 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m), before being retired to stud and covered by Alabama Express (Redoute’s Choice), with her first foal due later this year.
To has reinvested a very small percentage of her Kimochi’s fee in her half-sister, paying $60,000 for Distinctly Summer (Invader) – the third foal produced by Summer Fun (I Am Invincible) – via the Inglis Online Sale earlier this year.
The lightly-raced Distinctly Summer, whose half-brother Hole In One (Spieth) finished third in the 2024 Singapore Derby (Listed, 1800m), had been forced into an early retirement due to a tendon injury, giving To the perfect opportunity to expand his burgeoning broodmare operation.
“The plan is to send the mare to Brave Smash so that we can get a three-quarter sibling to Kimochi,” said To, who operates a popular chain of bubble tea shops in Sydney.
“I’m looking to get a few more broodmares and because Kimochi was such an amazing mare for us, it made sense for me to buy back into the family. She seemed to get better every year, her improvement from one preparation to another was amazing and even though she only won four races, she was always so consistent. We may never get another one as good as her, but Calamari Ring is definitely showing a lot of potential, so who knows?”