Plenty of colts have used the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes as a stepping stone to competition in the classic Belmont Stakes against Grade 1 company. Some have even won the big event.
For one, Stage Door Johnny (by Prince John) foiled the Triple Crown bid of Forward Pass (On-and-On) in 1968, much to the relief of racing scribes, because a triple by the latter colt would have required an asterisk. That was due to the controversy of the Calumet colt’s Derby. Forward Pass had finished second, then gotten the prize in the Kentucky Derby on the disqualification of Peter Fuller’s colt Dancer’s Image (Native Dancer), who tested positive for the then-prohibited phenylbutazolidin (Bute) and lost his classic in the stewards’ room.
For another, A.P. Indy (Seattle Slew) was widely regarded as the hot horse against world champion juvenile Arazi (Blushing Groom) for the 1992 Kentucky Derby but was scratched the morning of the race with a minor foot problem. That kept the son of a Triple Crown winner from attempting the same feat himself, but trainer Neil Drysdale had A.P. Indy back and ready for the Peter Pan, which he won by 5 ½ lengths in 1:47.49. The victory was such an emphatic performance that he proved the favorite for the Belmont Stakes, which he duly won in the excellent time of 2:26.13 from My Memoirs (Don’t Forget Me) and Preakness winner Pine Bluff (Danzig).
More recently, Arcangelo (Arrogate) came from victory in a maiden special in his third start to win his first graded stakes in the 2023 Peter Pan. Bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto Corp. and trained by Jena Antonucci for Blue Rose Farm LLC, Arcangelo won his Peter Pan in the style of a colt who would appreciate the extra three furlongs of the Belmont Stakes. Despite having been the second-favorite for the Peter Pan, Arcangelo was only fifth among the public’s choice against the classic colts of his generation, but the steady-striding gray defeated favored Forte (Violence) by a length and a half, subsequently won the G1 Travers, and was eventually elected champion of his division for the Eclipse Award, like the two other colts mentioned above.
So, a colt like Growth Equity (Nyquist) isn’t racing for peanuts if his owner and trainer choose to try for the Belmont. His victory in the G3 Peter Pan at Aqueduct racecourse on Saturday, May 9, was following precisely the same pattern as that of Arcangelo three years ago. When winning his maiden at Aqueduct on March 20 in his third start, Growth Equity pulled away by 4 ¼ lengths in 1:36.71 for the mile.
Coming back in the Peter Pan as his next start, Growth Equity was favored and won his first stakes by two lengths in 1:50.25 for the nine furlongs. In his post-race comments, trainer Chad Brown was generally positive about the colt’s potential for racing a somewhat longer distance but still not certain about the timing for placing Growth Equity in the Belmont Stakes next month at Saratoga.
A look at the colt’s pedigree is a similar judgment call.
Bred in Kentucky by Stone Farm, Growth Equity was a fetching yearling. Sent to the 2024 Keeneland September sale in the Stone Farm consignment, the colt brought $425,000 from Klaravich Stable. Mike Ryan, who inspects yearlings for the Klaravich operation, said that he “first went out and saw the colt at Stone Farm. He was a medium-sized colt with a lot of class. He was a smaller edition of his father, which I really liked.
“I spend a lot of time looking at yearlings on the farms, and it’s really good of them to allow us out during a busy time. But I know what Chad [Brown] likes; he knows what I like. And this colt, Growth Equity, he was an easy horse to like.”
The colt made his debut last July at Saratoga, finishing second in a maiden special to a colt named Emphasis (Yaupon), who has not raced again. Furthermore, we didn’t see Growth Equity again till Feb. 7 at Gulfstream, when he was second again in a maiden, this time to High Camp (Instagrand).
Growth Equity won his third start on March 20, and the Peter Pan was his fourth race.
Out of the stakes-placed My Dear Venezuela (Wildcat Heir), who was second in the G3 Old Hat Stakes, won three other races, and earned $141,897. To date, the mare has three winners from four runners, including the Arrogate gelding Bad to the Bones, who has earned $105,018.
Now a winner in two of his four races, Growth Equity has earnings of $187,600.
My Dear Venezuela has a 2-year-old colt named San Fernando (Candy Ride) and a yearling filly by Twirling Candy. The mare foaled a filly by Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) last week at Stone Farm.
Stone Farm acquired the dam of Growth Equity at the Keeneland November sale in 2018 for $440,000, carrying her first foal to a cover by champion Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song). The result of that mating was the gray Bad to the Bones, who went to the 2020 Keeneland September sale but returned home to Stone as a $185,000 RNA. Sent to the races in the Stone Farm silks, Bad to the Bones won a maiden special at Delaware Park.
Stone Farm’s Lynn Hancock said, “My Dear Venezuela gets such a good physical from her foals that she’s done well for us at the sales, and now Growth Equity has proven those good looks equate to quality racing performances.”
Hancock commented further: “The mare is a compact mare with nice muscling, and she had plenty of speed. We have high hopes for several other young horses from her, as well.”
Hancock agreed that the matings chosen for the mare came from a desire to add some classic scope and size to her offspring, and Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist has done the trick by getting a serious sales yearling who has now become a graded stakes winner.
My Dear Venezuela is out of the Silver Deputy mare Bayou Mist, who was bred in Kentucky by Groves-Alexander but did not make a strong impression at the sales ($35,000 at the 2007 Keeneland January sale as a broodmare) nor on the racetrack, winning two races from seven starts and earning $53,145.
As a producer, however, Bayou Mist has done something extraordinary. In addition to producing stakes winner Selva (Forest Wildcat) and My Dear Venezuela, the mare has four daughters who have produced stakes winners. That is an indication of the strength of this family, which traces back to Growth Equity’s fifth dam Monade (Klairon), who won the 1962 Oaks at Epsom, as well as the Prix Vermeille and eight other races, and finished second in the Arc de Triomphe.
King Ranch owner Robert J. Kleberg bought Monade and brought her to the States, where she has produced a family of class and quality with branches that include champion Queena (Mr. Prospector), Haskell winner Verrazano (More Than Ready), and now the promising Growth Equity.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on May 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the Features section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
