The Father Patrick filly is the great-granddaughter of She’s Cool, a blind mare owned by Koyuga couple Darryl and Sue Wegmann, the 2015/16 Victorian Breeders of the Year.
“We purchased one of her offspring, named Aleppo Lady, as a weanling from the Wegmann’s paddock for $4,000,” Schulze said.
Aleppo Lady showed above-average lateral gait ability, winning 13 races, including three at Moonee Valley, and finishing third in the Vicbred 4YO Final before her untimely death.
Inspired by Aleppo Lady’s success, the breeding partners later purchased her older sister Insulated for a modest $2,500 from Swan Hill identity Arthur Graham.
“We bought her mainly as a broodmare because she was broken. But then we decided to put her back to work and sent her to Andy Gath. He won three out of four starts before she bent the tendon again,” said Wayne.
Insulated became the foundation broodmare of Schulze and Eastman.
In total she left behind nine foals, seven of whom were successful, three of which were at group or list level. They won 64 races and a combined wager of $624,778.
“Aleppo Midas was the best of the family,” Wayne said. “She finished in the money in 28 of her 50 starts. She was second in a heat of the Great Southern Star, but galloped on the home turn in the $300,000 Final.”
Aleppo Jewel (by Angus Hall), Insulated’s eighth foal and a capable racing mare herself, is considered the mother of I Am Wilma.
Schulze offered the filly at the 2023 Nutrien Equine Melbourne yearling sale, but she was passed over after failing to reach the reserve price of $44,000.
He then hired her out to a syndicate and she was broken in and trained by Goulburn Valley rider Stacey Towers before being entrusted to Riddells Creek conditioners Chris Lang and Sonia Mahar.
“She was stubborn before, but she has developed as a racehorse in the past three months,” said Schulze.
“Before I Am Wilma, the guys in the syndicate had a lot of luck, but it was all bad!”
From her thirteenth start, I Am Wilma has achieved three successes with seven placements for a stake of $32,280 and there is no telling how far she will go.
A half-brother of Orlando Vici of I Am Wilma has been nominated for the Nutrien yearling sale at Oaklands Junction in April. The colt is part of Schulze’s three-part consignment, which includes a filly by Pebble Beach out of Aleppo Mia, a granddaughter of Insulated, and a Vincent filly by Diamond Inthe Dust, a granddaughter of She’s Cool.
- Alabar Bloodstock had a NZ Cup day to remember, with their stallions producing six winners on the card, including three of the four Group 1 features: the NZ Cup with Kingman (by. Always B Miki), the Dominion Trot with Gus (v Majestic son) and the Nevele R Series 3YO Finale with Celestial Sea (by Always B Miki)
- Victorian-bred trotters Tracy The Jet and Gatesys Gem ran the quinella in the $500,000 The Ascent at the Show Day meeting in Addington. Tracy The Jet, who recorded her seventh consecutive success, was bred by Pat Driscoll’s Yabby Dam Farms
- Champion rider Kerryn Manning bred and co-owns the three-year-old filly Surfe La Mer, the winner of a semi-final of the APG Yearling Sales Vicbred Super Series in Melton
Through Peter Wharton for Harness Racing Victoria
#blind #mare #rising #star