I'm going to go against malmo as well here and say that form is a big part. I can remember one race in particular, in which I competed against a runner who had beaten me roundly in several 3k races over the previous months. Because I had better form over the barriers, I was able to beat this particular athlete despite not feeling great on that particular day. Clearly form was able to save me a sizable amount of time in comparison to a clearly superior runner over flat ground.
Also by using similar logic, 400M hurdle runners shouldn't worry about form either. Technically that race is more running than hurdling, in terms of the number of steps. And finally, doing hurdle work couldn't hurt, could it? Might as well throw it into your training if possible. It's like saying that 10k runners shouldn't worry at all about their footspeed because "the 10k is an endurance race." While endurance is far more important in the 10k than footspeed, having a strong kick can certainly make you a more competitive racer, even if the difference isn't great.