Skip to main content

Normandy Invasion passing on Preakness

  • Author:
  • Publish date:
Normandy Invasion took the lead into the stretch of the Kentucky Derby before finishing fourth.

Normandy Invasion took the lead into the stretch of the Kentucky Derby before finishing fourth.

The trainer of Normandy Invasion says his fourth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby will miss the Preakness and get ready for a summer campaign that includes the Travers Stakes in August.

Trainer Chad Brown said Sunday that after a talk with owner Rick Porter the decision was made to rest the colt rather than bring him back on two weeks' rest.

Normandy Invasion took the lead in the stretch of last weekend's Derby before finishing fourth, 3 1/2 lengths behind Orb.

Orb went for a 1 1/2-mile gallop around Belmont Park on Sunday, and is set for his final workout Monday before being vanned to Baltimore for the Saturday's Preakness.

Among the challengers Orb is likely to face in the second leg of the Triple Crown are Derby runners Mylute (fifth), Oxbow (sixth), Will Take Charge (eighth), Itsmyluckyday (15th) and Goldencents (17th), with Vyjack (18th) still under consideration. New shooters include Illinois Derby winner Departing, trainer Bob Baffert's Govenor Charlie and Titletown Five.

Departing worked four furlongs in 50 2/5 Sunday at Churchill Downs, and is expected to arrive at Pimlico on Wednesday. Departing and Orb shared a paddock in their early days at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky.

Itsmyluckyday, a runner-up to Orb in the Florida Derby prior to the Kentucky Derby, worked four furlongs in 47 1/5 between the third and fourth races at Monmouth Park on Sunday.