Harness: For Once Inmy Life finally got a winning trip for Team Stratton

In reviewing the autopsy of what happened to the 3-10 favored Dandy Ideal in the Grade 3 $100,000 Always B Miki Invitational, the concluding race on Saturday's (August 22) Sun Stakes card, handicappers had to be puzzled how the 4-year-old that was dominant in the Dan Patch at Hoosier Park just eight days earlier succumbed in the stretch at his home track. For it was Dandy Ideal a year earlier to the date that took on and beat the best in the sophomore division in the Max Hempt Memorial.

Even trainer Cory Stratton, who sent out the upset winner For Once Inmy Life, thought any chance of winning the race was over when the field reached the half.

"When they got to the half in 55 2/5 I was thinking that maybe we'll get second but most likely a first-over horse will out-position us in the stretch," Stratton said on Monday following the win.

In as much as gamblers need to review the decisions they make with information garnered form the last few weeks of racing, trainers must think long-term and anticipate the ups and downs along the way. Dandy Ideal's demise in the Always B Miki could have been a result of many factors that occurred in the aftermath of his Dan Patch triumph. Certainly, shipping to and from Hoosier Park could impact the horse's regular routine. Then again, Dandy Ideal may have spent too much energy when he went from sixth to first in the second quarter of the Dan Patch, hitting the half in a blistering 52 3/5. That he paced to a personal-best 1:47 2/5 may in fact have taken a bit too much out of him.

For Stratton, the benefit of racing luck was sweet, and certainly For Once Inmy Life was worthy of a break or two considering that the 6-year-old son of Downbytheseaside hasn't had much luck of his own.

"I was happy when he drew the rail," said Stratton. "He'd been drawing outside and I knew with his speed we were going to get a good trip."

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While those wagering on the races need to make decisions based on the last two weeks of a horse's performance, Stratton, as the conditioner, needs to assess his horses and figure where to have them entered or when to race or rest them. In the case of For Once Inmy Life, the conclusion to his 2025 campaign came following just his 12th race of the year.

"We put him in the Borgata Series and he's a big horse," said Stratton. "I think the hard racing on the half-mile track took something out of him."

Though expectations were obviously high and For Once Inmy Life had won half of his 12 starts, Stratton thought it best to put the horse on the shelf and regroup. His early success in the Borgata could not be sustained, and by the rich final For Once Inmy Life's form had gone into reverse. "There was nothing wrong with him," said Stratton, clarifying that no major injury led to the decision. "He just needed some time."

Stratton gave For Once In My Life the rest of 2025 off following a July start and was more than pleased as he trained the horse for the 2026 season. "Training him back I could see he was much better," said Stratton. "I told the owners to make at least the first stakes payments and then we would race him and see how far we could go."

Unlike in 2025, Stratton stayed off the half-mile track with For Once Inmy Life, allowed the horse to work back in shape and not only improve his form but get his confidence back. With the foundation built in January and February, For Once Inmy Life came to life with four straight wins in March and April, exhibiting the form that Stratton and ownership had planned for.

Bad draws would make For Once Inmy Life an outsider on the tote board as well when he began racing against better stock, but the gelding was still able to overcome the odds and race at a high level, finishing a close third in the Auger at Harrah's Philadelphia despite starting from post seven. From post six in the Haughton on July 11 at the Meadowlands, he was again a solid third after leaving in a 25 1/5 opening quarter.

On Hambletonian Day, For For Once Inmy Life drew post nine in a division of the Sam McKee Memorial but overcame that in an instant with 26-second blast to the top. He would finish fourth behind Captain Albano in that contest.

"He was really good," said Stratton of the McKee effort. "He just got into a bad spot and couldn't get room in time."

"He's only got a few more races on his stakes schedule," said Stratton. "He'll go in the Canadian Pacing Derby (eliminations Saturday August 29) and hopefully the final, and then he's got the Ohio Fair Stakes at Delaware (County Fair). We didn't make him eligible to the Breeders Crown."

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Now a winner nine times in 20 starts this year with $232K in the bank following his Always B Miki victory, For Once Inmy Life is an example of letting nature play a role in a horse's recovery from the racing wars. It's easy for ownership to lose focus when a horse's past performance goes from good to bad. That may have been a reason that For Once Inmy Life, a solid stakes performer as a 2 and 3-year-old, came available to Stratton and ownership late in his 4-year-old campaign in 2024.

"We were able to buy him from Ongait.com for just $38,000," said Stratton.

The ownership saw the horse earn out before the end of the year.

While Cory's brother Jordan was in the bike at Pocono on Saturday, the trainer was at Tioga Downs where he would start the Ohio Sire Stakes 3-year-old pacing filly Vanna By The River.

"She needed a start between stakes races," said Stratton, who indicated the daughter of Downbytheseaside would race Friday (August 28) at Scioto Downs.

With two leg victories, Vanna By The River has already secured a spot in the $300,000 final on September 12, also at Scioto Downs.

Jordan was interviewed following the Always B Miki triumph by Jessica Otten, but he was not the star of the show as Jaxson, Cory and wife Victoria's 9-month old son, stole the show, fiddling with the microphone as his uncle fielded the questions. Young Jaxson may be the one giving the interviews in the near future with his dad's stable now ranked seventh in the nation and on the rise.