Normandy Invasion, who established himself as a promising Kentucky Derby
contender with a nose second in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct on
November 24, is settling in at Palm Meadows Training Center for trainer Chad
Brown, who has not yet set a 2013 racing schedule for the son of Tapit.
“Mr. Porter and I have discussed it. We’re going to let him settle in here at
Palm Meadows,” said Brown, who trains Normandy Invasion for Rick Porter’s Fox
Hill Farms. “After he has his first workout later in the month, we’ll probably
get more serious about targeting a specific race. Until that time, we’ll just
let the horse tell us how he’s doing and go from there.”
Normandy Invasion broke his maiden by nearly 10 lengths in a mile race at
Aqueduct in his second career start, which was followed by a heartbreaking loss
in the Remsen. The Kentucky-bred colt made a sweeping move into contention on
the turn into the homestretch before losing a photo finish to Todd
Pletcher-trained Overanalyze by a nose in the 1 1/8-mile event.
“He looked like a winner turning for home. To the other horse’s credit, he
really dug in and fought back,” Brown said. “They’re two really good horses. I’m
sure they’ll meet again.”
Although Normandy Invasion came out on the short end of the photo, his
performance raised the hopes of his trainer.
“He’s a very talented horse,” Brown commented. “He’s still learning the game.
He can obviously handle two turns. Distance won’t be a problem for him moving
forward.
“He has a great disposition about him. He’s a very smart horse. If he
continues to learn and progress, he could be a horse on the (Derby) trail. I’m
hoping.”
Normandy Invasion’s development hasn’t come as a big surprise.
“We did like the horse quite a bit. Very soon after I received him, we
identified him as one of our top prospects — he way he moved, the way he was
breezing,” his trainer said.
Brown also has a pair of very promising two-year-old turf performers, Noble
Tune and Balance the Books, who finished second and third, respectively, in the
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita last month. Both colts returned to
the track at Palm Meadows this week after having a month off. Brown is hoping
they’ll return to action in early March.
The Brown-trained Dayatthespa is recovering from cuts suffered while trying
to jump the inner rail in the recent Grade 1 Matriarch at Hollywood Park. She
wound up fifth in the field of eight.
“So far, I’m optimistic. I love the way she’s handling everything here.
There’s no time table for her,” said Brown, who saddled Dayatthespa for five
straight victories prior to her Matriarch mishap, including the Grade 2 Queen
Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland.
Brown said that no decision has been made on the future of champion Awesome
Feather, who suffered her first loss in 11 career starts when finishing a
disappointing sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic at Santa Anita.
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