Normandy Invasion

[JoseOcon]

I am going to play Normandy Invasion in the Wood. I think the horse is better than what he has shown. Nice workouts and Castellano riding him.

[JoseOcon]

Nightmare trip!

He will beat Verrazano in the Derby

[ajkreider]

I predict NI goes off at the shortest odds of a non-winner-at-three in the history of the Derby.

[Wrongly]

So much for all the Remsen NI haters, his line will look pretty good on Derby Day.

[TreadHead]

He races very deceptively, which I think is why so many people misjudged him prior to today (although with all the negativity he was still bet down to 7/2).  He looks like he is not able to move that fast for 95% of the race, and then at the end of the race he\'s suddenly going faster than everyone else.

I\'m still not convinced he will get by Verrazano in the Derby, but with the added distance and a clean trip (never a given) he\'s gonna be right there again.

[Caradoc]

To the degree anything about his trip was nightmarish -- highly debatable -- you have to wonder at this point whether NI is the type of horse who habitually gets himself into some kind of trouble, although today\'s was insignificant. And I\'m not so sure his line looks all that good coming into the Derby, as the best that probably can be said is that he has had to work very hard to get back to his 2yo top.  If that.

[jimbo66]

Who are these people that misjudged him prior to today?  The wood was slow, he had no horror trip, and he started running after the race was over to get a suck up second second when distance challenged Vyjack hit a wall late

Agree with earlier post that this horse will be over bet on derby day
 
I saw nothing impressive with this horse.  A poor man\'s dollar bill (was that 1999 or 2000.

[TreadHead]

So you are not going to admit to thinking he was overbet today?  Of course you didn\'t see anything impressive, because doing so would make the litany of comments you made this winter about him look ridiculous.  I could given 2-5 on you saying that no matter what happened today.  

If closing into what everyone in the universe has as the best or second best horse on the Derby Trail, off such a slow pace, and losing by less than a length in a G1 while moving the best at the end doesn\'t at least get your attention, then I\'m not sure what will.  

So now this was a bad field/race?  And everything in Louisiana?  And everything in Arkansas?  Do good fields exist in your world?

[miff]

Tread,

All irrelevant, the Wood was slow, thats all that counts, Grade 1, Grade 9 or whatever.NI ran marginally faster(maybe) than fillies that run in the 5 range.


Mike

[sighthound]

> All irrelevant, the Wood was slow, thats all that
> counts, Grade 1, Grade 9 or whatever.NI ran
> marginally faster(maybe) than fillies that run in
> the 5 range.

And so did Verrzano.

[miff]

\"And so did Verrzano\"


Verranzano looked quite mortal today,Shug has an accelerated heart rate.

[TGJB]

My guess is the filly race comes up big. V has much more chance of not starting twice in TC races than winning 3. There are actually some horses positioned to make a run at the TC this year, but not him.

[Eight Belles]

miff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tread,
>
> All irrelevant, the Wood was slow, thats all that
> counts, Grade 1, Grade 9 or whatever.NI ran
> marginally faster(maybe) than fillies that run in
> the 5 range.
>
>
> Mike

It was a strange race.  Now, you can make a case that Normandy Invasion is the common denominator in the two strangest Derby prep results thus far and it\'d be a decent case.  But when the speed to Verrazano\'s outside is held at the gate, and then a crawling pace ensues yet there\'s little sprinting for home, and you know for a fact that those top three are faster than that, then you have a really good case to put an asterick by it.

[miff]

Eight,

Agree they are faster but only with creative license can the race become fast. It wasn\'t on the track.

Mike

[drbillym]

Agree that Shug has an accelerated heart rate.  Verrazano all out finishing straight as a string after slow fractions.  Golden Cents not anothe i\'ll have another who was bred for 1 1/4.  Keen eye on Arkansas Derby, but Orb looking best.  Also Revolutionary-those who think he always gets into trouble and will find more in a 20 horse field need to realize he has learned how to overcome it.
Scarlet Strike\'s last two on turf ARE as impressive as they look.