By Patrycja Szpyra
Distance test, passed, but pump the breaks on the Belmont talk, at least for now, according to trainer Chad Brown.
A recent maiden graduate facing more seasoned competition, Growth Equity (Nyquist) made the jump from winner to graded winner with aplomb in the GIII Peter Pan Stakes, but while he has an expenses-paid spot in the final jewel of the Triple Crown, his conditioner is not entirely set on sending him to Saratoga.
“I'll talk to Seth [Klarman, owner Klaravich Stables],” said Brown after the race. “Talking to Flavien [Prat], he wasn't against more ground. We need to unpack it a bit later on. It's tough to say–he handled the mile and an eighth well. That other horse seemed like he was hanging in there with him. They were both running away from the field.”
“He didn't scream to me like he wanted more ground after this, so I'm not sure I'm in a hurry to get him out to a mile and a quarter in the Belmont, but he handled this well and there's a lot of mile and an eighth races that are just fine to run in going forward. Maybe he does want more ground, we'll see.”
Last seen in the aforementioned graduation Mar. 20 at a one-turn mile at this venue, Growth Equity had two runner-up efforts to his credit before that–Feb. 7 at Gulfstream when he started the 2026 campaign and last July at Saratoga on debut against eventual black-type runners MSP Stradale (Yaupon), SP Day One Starter (Upstart), and MSP Honey's to Blame (Blame).
Much like his trainer, who had admittedly been cautiously optimistic about Growth Equity's ability to get the distance coming into this race, the betting public put their money where their mouth was and made him the solid even-money choice by gate break.
Content to watch Talk to Me Jimmy (Jimmy Creed) as he posted opening fractions of :23.80 and a half-mile in :48.35, Growth Equity loped along from fourth until they approached the end of the backstretch. The field dynamics began shifting heading into the final bend after six panels in 1:12.70, and for a moment it looked like Gulfy (Constitution) would overtake the frontrunner coming for home. The looming danger via the overland route as Talk to Me Jimmy turned away the first challenge, Growth Equity overtook the longtime leader at the top of the stretch while Trendsetter (Modernist) tried to produce a rally from the back of the pack.
Up front, however, Growth Equity had left them all behind as he ran up the score late to win by two lengths. Talk to Me Jimmy gamely fought on from the rail to hold a clear second while Trendsetter snuck up in the shadow of the wire to get third.
The top three in this contest will all have waived entry and starting fees to the Belmont Stakes in June. Arcangelo (2023), Tonalist (2014), A.P. Indy (1992), Danzing Connection (1985), and Coastal (1979) all parlayed their Peter Pan scores into later Belmont glory.
“He got a nice education by rating and losing plenty of ground on the final turn, where he needed to be to go around those two horses,” said Brown. “He went a bit further than a mile and an eighth today and he did it well. He looked a winner every step of the way. All that was a real positive for him and he probably ran a lifetime [best] figure again, so this will be a fourth race with a new improvement. A horse that has a pattern like that the first four starts, that keeps getting faster on numbers–you have to like that.”
Talk about a high-return investment
and Flavien Prat delivered a blue-chip performance in the G3 Peter Pan Stakes, turning a strong position into a major score and putting his stock on the rise toward bigger targets this summer. pic.twitter.com/P5boENGg9w
— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) May 9, 2026
When asked why he went with Growth Equity over stablemates Tariff Mindset (Tiz the Law) and Ottinho (Quality Road), Brown said it was more a case of timing and the former being out with an injury.
“This horse was down the depth chart just based on my initial thoughts on who would fit this mile and an eighth, which can be a demanding mile and an eighth sometimes at Aqueduct.”
“He wasn't my top choice to do it but Tariff Mindset had a minor issue and is out of training until late summer and Ottinho had a problem with his foot that seems well resolved–he had a beautiful work today [in company with GI Preakness contender Iron Honor] over at Belmont. [Growth Equity] filled in and the more the race came together, he sure looked like he fit on figures.”
Pedigree Note:
Growth Equity is the third winner from four to the races for My Dear Venezuela (Wildcat Heir). Her most recent to come of age is the juvenile colt San Fernando (Candy Ride {Arg}) and she has a yearling Twirling Candy filly in the wings. The mare, a half-sister to MSW & GSP Selva (Forest Wildcat), is due to Arabian Knight for 2026.
Saturday, Belmont The Big A
PETER PAN S.-GIII, $194,000, Belmont The Big A, 5-9, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:50.25, gd.
1–GROWTH EQUITY, 123, c, 3, by Nyquist
1st Dam: My Dear Venezuela (GSP, $141,897), by Wildcat Heir
2nd Dam: Bayou Mist, by Silver Deputy
3rd Dam: Pecan Bayou, by Gone West
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($425,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Stone Farm (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Flavien Prat. $110,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-2-0, $187,600. Werk Nick Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Talk to Me Jimmy, 123, c, 3, Modernist–Prairie Trip, by Trippi. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($24,000 RNA Wlg '23 FTNMIX; $31,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). O-SEI Thoroughbreds, Rudy Rodriguez and Michael Imperio; B-Majestic View Farms Intl. (NY); T-Rudy R. Rodriguez. $40,000.
3–Trendsetter, 123, g, 3, Modernist–Suyapa, by Astrology. ($22,000 Ylg '24 KEEJAN; $25,000 Ylg '24 EASOCT; $130,000 2yo '25 OBSAPR; $725,000 RNA 3yo '26 KEEAPR). O-Davant Latham; B-Circle B Family Farm (KY); T-Ben Colebrook. $24,000.
Margins: 2, 3 1/4, NK. Odds: 1.02, 2.15, 2.57.
Also Ran: Gulfy, Azam. Scratched: Bull by the Horns. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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