Norman Asbjornson is not your ordinary household name, but he will try to sneak onto some 2011 Preakness Stakes predictions this Saturday. From a Beyer Speed Figure standpoint, each race since his maiden victory last December has been faster than the one before, and he has managed this while taking some significant class jumps. Even if he was soundly beaten by Stay Thirsty, he was a very competitive second in the Gotham Stakes two starts back. He faltered with a fourth-place finish at the Wood Memorial and will now go up against some stiffer competition in the Preakness. Norman Asbjornson is listed as a +2250 longshot to win this race, but those horse racing odds are where they are for a reason. I just don’t see this horse cashing in on this race.

Norman Asbjornson is a half-brother to Essenceofthemoon, the winner of the $100,000 Charles Town Juvenile at 4 ½ furlongs. Essenceofthemoon was purely a sprinter and never made a route start after 23 trips to the post. This horse is a bit more of a distance runner, but he has not yet won a stakes race of any sort and has yet to demonstrate that he can be competitive with some of the better members of his generation. His most effective running style to date has been being with the early lead in slow-paced routes. He will likely face a much stronger pace scenario in the Preakness, which suggests he will have to come from off the pace. Since he has yet to prove that he can win like that, that is the reason why he is listed where he is at SBGGlobal.com.

Norman Asbjornson is sitting on a big effort. After opening with three dismal performances, the son of 1998 Preakness champion Real Quiet won two modest non-stakes races. If jockey Julian Pimentel can break cleanly from the No. 2 post in the 14-horse field, his style of being near the lead on the final turn puts him in traditional position to win.  The only unfortunate part about that is that we saw what happened to the horses that started close to the rail in the Kentucky Derby. It is just not a favorable position to start from, so this horse will have his work cut out for him early in the race.

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