Fresh of a most encouraging second-place finish in the Remsen Stakes
at Aqueduct,
Normandy Invasion 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
allowance 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 Remsen on Nov. 24.
“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. He’s still learning the game. He can
obviously handle two turns. Distance won’t be a problem for him moving
forward,” Brown said.
“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 2-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 Matriarch (G1) at Hollywood
Park.
“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
Sweetest Chant and the Herecomesthebride (G3) at Gulfstream last season,
as well as the Queen Elizabeth II (G1) at Keeneland.