Growth Equity strengthened his standing among the late-developing American three-year-olds when Chad Brown’s colt stepped up from maiden company to land the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont at the Big A, though his trainer stopped short of committing him to the Belmont Stakes.
He turned Saturday’s Peter Pan Stakes into part of his progression story, moving from a March maiden win into graded company and handling the rise in class with authority in one of New York’s traditional Belmont trials.
The Nyquist colt, owned by Klaravich Stables and ridden by Flavien Prat, settled in fourth through the early stages of the 1 1/8-mile Grade 3 before moving around rivals on the far turn and asserting in the stretch. He scored by two lengths in 1:50.25, with Talk to Me Jimmy keeping on for second and Trendsetter finishing third.
‘Cautiously Optimnistic’
Peter Pan remains one of the clearest stepping-stone races toward the Belmont Stakes. The first three finishers earned waived entry and starting fees for the June 6 Classic at Saratoga, but Brown said after the race that Growth Equity had not yet fully convinced him he wants a mile and a quarter.
Brown told reporters he had been cautiously optimistic about the colt staying a mile and an eighth and felt the test was passed, but added that he would need to discuss the next step with owner Seth Klarman. His main note of caution was not over his talent, but over whether the colt showed an obvious appetite for even further.
The performance marked a meaningful development in the division. Growth Equity had arrived with only one win from three previous starts, but experts described him as a horse improving with each run, and Saturday’s controlled finish backed that up. Prat’s ride also mattered, with the jockey choosing patience early before bringing the favourite into the race at the right moment.
Change in the Pecking Order
This was more than a routine stakes result because it introduced a new graded winner into the Belmont conversation at a point in the calendar when the American three-year-old picture is still settling after the Kentucky Derby and before the Preakness.
Even if Growth Equity does not run in the Belmont, his Peter Pan win has already changed where he sits in this summer’s pecking order.
Growth Equity won the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont at the Big A, but Chad Brown has yet to decide whether the colt will head to the Belmont Stakes.