After blowing away his competition in his 2nd lifetime start by 9 1/4 lengths the Chad Brown barn knew they had a special colt in NORMANDY INVASION. On Saturday in the [G2] Remsen he proved just how special he was. He broke towards the back of the pack and sat reserved for the first half of the 1 1/8th race. He began picking off his competition one by one with a furlong and a half to go. At the top of the stretch he had two horses left in front of him. At the 1/16th pole he had collared Overanalyze and the pair went head to head for the remainder of the stretch. Normandy Invasion lost by a head bob on the wire.
Chad was happy with his colts performance, “He ran well, so I’m encouraged with that. He established himself. He has to be a long-winded horse to make that long of a run. He can settle, take dirt, run around two turns. For only his third career start, we were really impressed. He did everything but win. To the winner’s credit, he really dug back in he showed a lot of courage.” According to the Daily Racing Form one spot Brown mentioned was the Wood Memorial, likely to be run April 6. Normandy Invasion’s sire, Tapit, won the Wood in 2004.
Normandy Invasion did not meet his reserve of $145,000 at the Keeneland September 2011 Yearling sale. He was then purchased privately post sale by Bradley Thoroughbreds Pinhook Venture and put in training with Eddie Woods in Ocala. At the Keeneland April Sale in 2012 Normandy Invasion was purchased for $230,000 by Fox Hill Farms.
