Victor Cooley, Canada’s 1996 Men’s and Queen’s 3-year-old champion, was honored June 27 at Old Friends, a retirement farm for maturers based in Georgetown, KY, where he crowned since 2014.
According to veterinarian Ashton Broman, Victor Cooley suffered from acute onset neurological symptoms along with other pre-existing medical conditions.
Raised in Ontario by the Begg family’s Windways Farm, Cool Victor’s son outside of Willow Flight, won numerous accolades during his six seasons on the track and earned $1,320,475.
Racing under the silks of Windways Ranch and driven by coach Mark Frostad and later Malcolm Pierce, Victor Cooley received the 3-year-old Men’s Sovereignty Award after landing the prestigious Queen’s Disc at Honeysuckle. He also secured shares of Queenston and Marine along with a runner-up finish behind the mighty Skip Away in the Woodbine Million (G1).
At the age of 4, gelding was primarily campaigning in the United States, taking home a top-level victory in the Vosburgh Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park overtake the top sprinters The story of the cat and North Afleet. He is also equal Keeneland achievement of winning Commonwealth Breeders’ Cup Stakes (G2) and being placed in Stephen Foster Bets (G2), Forego Handicap (G2), Churchill Downs Handicap (G3), Equipoise Mile (G3) and Ack Ack Handicap (G3) .
Victor Cooley retired at the age of 6 with a 13-12-3 record from 39 starts.
The gelling remained at Windways until the farm closed in 2014 and was then sent to Old Friends along with Windways’ other completed gelling, El Brujo.
Windways Jeff Begg said: “We bred it, raised the pony and bred it on our ranch,” Victor is not an easy horse to deal with – he is indeed a pony, but it was our first big horse and really got us going. took us to another level and took us everywhere.
“For such a quirky horse, nothing really follows his stages. He doesn’t care, he keeps his form for whatever track he’s been on.”
Old Friends chairman Michael Blowen said: “Victor is as tough as a retiree as a racehorse. “During race days, he didn’t leave anything on the track, and he didn’t leave anything on the table here either. I wish all the owners were like Jeff and his wife. That’s Annabel.
“They visit him two or three times a year, always carrying a bag of pepper. They continue to care for him long past his racing days.”
