Zipse’s
Kentucky Derby Daily – Day 35
With a name
like Norman Asbjornson, this horse better be able to run. Named after the
75-year-old founder of AAON, the
three-year-old colt has a lot to live up to. Still CEO
of the successful NASDAQ listed corporation, Asbjornson, the man, has proven
himself a success on many fronts. A self-made millionaire, he has given back to
his tiny hometown of Winifred, Montana in a big way. Thanks to Asbjornson, the
town of 150 people has a new city hall, library, museum, pool bathhouse, and
community center. His generosity also allows for local students to receive
scholarships to attend his alma mater, Montana State University. Like I said,
with the name Norman Asbjornson, this horse needs to be a runner.It’s
starting to look like he might be just that. Much like his near Triple Crown
winning sire, Real Quiet, Norman A showed little last year as a juvenile
sprinter. Three sprints at two Pennsylvania tracks provided little evidence
that he would ever do anything of note, but as soon as he was given the
opportunity to run a route of ground an amazing transformation took place.
A one mile
maiden special weight at Penn National last December 8 was his coming out
party. Sent off at 24-1, Norman crushed the field with an easy five length
score. The Christopher Grove trained, Pennsylvania bred was again shown little
respect as he was sent to the post at 14-1 in his next start, an allowance race
at Parx Racing on January 15. No problem for Norman A, again he demonstrated both
his improvement and his affinity for two-turns, with another easy win. So after
two solid wins at big odds in Pennsylvania, it was time for the Thomas McClay
and Harry Nye homebred to try the big boys.
Not
surprisingly the bay colt was completely ignored by the bettors in the historic
Derby prep, the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. Once again this horse showed he has
no idea what his odds are. Made a 47-1 rank outsider, Norman Asbjornson ran
another strong race. The Daily Racing Form comment line reads, Steadied 1/16th
pole, stubborn. As his successful namesake no doubt knows, a little stubbornness
can be a good thing. He was only second best that day, to the highly regarded
Stay Thirsty, but it was another clear step in the right direction. And so the
odyssey will continue.
Norman A was
among the 13 horses whose connections paid $6,000 to make them Triple Crown
eligible during the recently concluded late nomination period. To prepare for
an assault on racing’s most coveted series of races, he continues his stamina building
workouts at Bowie Race Course, and his connections have their sites on Aqueduct’s
Wood Memorial, where he would face undefeated champion, Uncle Mo. High hopes
indeed for Norman Asbjornson, but if he keeps improving at this rate, who knows
what heights he could reach. Kind of like a small town boy from Montana
becoming a captain of industry.
[Norman Asbjornson currently resides at #30 on HRN's 2011 Kentucky Derby Contender Rankings ... too high, too low, or just right?]
[Norman Asbjornson currently resides at #30 on HRN's 2011 Kentucky Derby Contender Rankings ... too high, too low, or just right?]
