Expectations continue to climb for superior student Im Victor

by Matthew Lomon

The path to becoming a winning racehorse starts with learning what it means to be one.

For Im Victor, the road to prosperity got off to a bumpy start, but all signs have begun pointing in the right direction.

“He was always a good colt, but he was just growthy and immature,” said trainer Cory Fuller. “He trained down last year, and looked solid, but it just wasn’t the right timing for him.”

Following his instincts, Fuller, a 25-plus-year industry veteran, decided a redshirt freshman year was in order for the still-developing son of Sportswriter—Im Stunning.

The patient plan proved prudent.

Across 10 starts during his debut campaign, the now 3-year-old Im Victor has collected five wins to go along with a pair of seconds and a third on his 2025 scorecard.

As Fuller reiterated, the natural ability was always there – it just needed to sync with the right timing.

“He always showed ability from day one,” Fuller said. “We were fortunate enough to have Chris Bell at the farm — he’s got his driver/trainer license — who schooled him a bunch for me and qualified him the first two times. Chris helped give him more of a learning experience than anything.

“He was able to pick stuff up at his pace more so than in other scenarios where he may have felt rushed.”

Im Victor translated the lessons from Fuller and Bell into a successful maiden outing — a half-length tally with Daryl Thiessen in tow — on July 26 at Hanover Raceway.

The $2,500 dash offered a promising mix of winnability and teachability.

“It felt like the right spot to start him out,” Fuller said. “You could teach him something along the way, and you didn’t have to go in the box or pace in [1]:53 or [1]:54 right away.”

The sleek black colt carried the momentum over from a triumphant first effort into a front-leading five-length decision one week later, also at Hanover.

Im Victor’s winning ways came to a halt next time out in what turned out to be the onset of a brief hard luck stretch that held him out of the winner’s circle in three ensuing starts.

Fortunately, Fuller was able to iron out the issue and lay the foundation for his prized pacer’s most successful stretch to date.

“He had a bit of a shoeing issue but got that straightened up,” Fuller said. “After that, we got hooked up with [driver] Travis Cullen and he was able to keep him for the [Autumn] Series, which was certainly a positive.”

After teaming up for the first time in a $6,500 contest on Oct. 5 at Flamboro Downs — and winning by two lengths in 1:56.2 — Im Victor and Cullen set their sights on the Autumn Series.

The pair announced their presence in commanding fashion, taking the first leg of the Ontario-sired challenge by 6¾ lengths, after leading throughout, on Oct. 12.

While they came up short with a runner-up outing in the second leg one week later, Im Victor and Cullen did plenty to book their ticket for the $25,000 final last Sunday (Oct. 26).

Revving up as the starter car advanced and the gate narrowed in his biggest race to date, Im Victor would simply not be denied, leading coast-to-coast for the two-length victory.

Fuller, watching from the sidelines, saw the same horse that made waves on the elim stage.

“He didn’t really teach us anything we didn’t already know about him; we saw that in him before the final,” Fuller said. “That said, it’s always good to win and it’s nice to see the horse pick up a win like that for the owner [Kyle Strejch] – one of his babies he picked up as a weanling. He’s been in it for quite a while.”

Equally valuable as the ascending colt’s consistency was the expertise imparted by Cullen.

“He was able to give us a few suggestions — he’s very knowledgeable with driving and training, in general — and when somebody sticks with him, obviously, he gets to know him more and that’s worked out well,” Fuller said.

The Angus, ON-based conditioner isn’t, however, prepared to be complacent with Im Victor.

Instead, his expectations continue to climb.

“He’s hasn’t really raced yet, in a sense,” Fuller said. “He’s still learning, he’s got speed yet to come out of him that we’re building towards unlocking.”

Fuller’s optimism is rooted, partially, in the experience he shared with Resurgent Dragon, a horse similar to Im Victor, at the dawn of his career while working for George Millar of Millar Farms.

“He reminds me of that horse a lot, both in their physical and personality traits,” said Fuller of the Dragon’s Lair bay that earned over $335,000 lifetime. “He was a very nice horse.

“They’re both laid back, but when it’s time to perform, they’re a different animal. It’s crazy. You’d be out jogging easily, and something goes on or a horse goes by and they’ll pretty much jerk you out of the cart with the ambition to go. You can’t teach it, it’s just in them.”

That inherent ability to flip the switch has been on full display in a building-block campaign for Im Victor.

The calendar year has certainly given Fuller plenty to be proud of, especially considering the tumultuous nature of the year prior.

What he is most impressed by though, is Im Victor’s reliable presence, night in, night out.

“He hasn’t really had to race much, which is beneficial to him, being a growthy colt at the time,” he said. “It should, at least I think, make him a better horse in the near future.”

As for the pacer’s immediate future, Fuller has his eye on the Ontario Sired Harvest series, kicking off Saturday (Nov. 8) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

After that, Fuller added, “it’d be nice to give him a couple weeks off.”

No matter what lies ahead for Im Victor, each trip around the track is seen as another learning opportunity.

One Fuller is grateful to have had the chance to pursue.

“A lot of owners, if they’re not going to make it as 2-year-olds, move on from them,” Fuller said. “His owner kept him, and hopefully, it pays off in the long run.”