Significant Form delivers as Miss Grillo Stakes favorite

ELMONT, N.Y. – Significant Form eased the pain of being disqualified from victory in a maiden race at Saratoga with a good-looking, one-length triumph in Sunday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Miss Grillo Stakes at Belmont Park that likely will lead to a start in the Breeders’ Cup next month at Del Mar.

Unlike her debut, when she encountered early trouble, interfering with another horse and stumbling herself, Significant Form had clear sailing on Sunday. Kept three to four wide throughout by Irad Ortiz Jr., Significant Form stalked Lifetime Citizen and Southampton Way through six furlongs in 1:13.67.

Turning for home, Significant Form remained in the 3 path, moved toward the leaders above the eighth pole, then turned aside Orbolution and Best Performance to beat the latter by a length. Best Performance finished second by 1 1/4 lengths over Orbolution. She was followed by Bramble Queen, Codrington, Africa, Life Time Citizen, Indy Union, and Southampton Way.

The win was the sixth in this race since 2008 for trainer Chad Brown. Three of his previous Miss Grillo winners – New Money Honey (2016), Lady Eli (2014), and Maram (2008) – went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Significant Form will get her chance to win that race on Nov. 3 at Del Mar.

Brown said he asked Ortiz to make sure Significant Form had a clean trip, even it meant losing a little bit of ground.

“I thought the post [7] was good for her,” Brown said. “I felt she was most likely the best filly. Although I didn’t want to go wide the whole way, the one thing I didn’t want was to get trapped on the inside. I thought he rode a beautiful race. The filly really cooperated by first, breaking well, and second of all, behaving really well, learning a lot from that first experience that didn’t go well. I’m really proud of both the filly and how Irad delivered a beautiful trip.”

Ortiz said he was content to sit third and three wide despite the slow early fractions of 24.60 seconds, 49.25, and 1:13.67 for the opening six furlongs.

“I was good where I was,” Ortiz said. “I knew when I asked her, she’d be there for me.”

Significant Form, a daughter of Creative Cause, covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.29 and returned $4.10 as the even-money favorite.

Significant Form is the first horse owned by Stephanie Seymour Brant, the former model and actress and wife of Peter Brant.

“She was my birthday present from my husband, and it’s wonderful, a great feeling,” she said.

As happy as Brown was with Significant Form’s performance, he was disappointed by that of Africa, who raced rankly while between horses and ended up sixth. Africa was making her first start in this country.

“She missed the break, which was not totally unexpected first time in the country, but from there, she became very rank and uncooperative,” Brown said. “She hadn’t been showing us that in the mornings, so that caught us off guard. We’ll have to go back to the drawing board with her.”

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