Secret Gesture connections to appeal Beverly D. disqualification

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The connections of Secret Gesture plan to appeal her disqualification from first to third Saturday in the Grade 1, $700,000 Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington, according to an official for the International Racing Bureau, which coordinates and facilitates the shipping of European horses.

Secret Gesture, ridden by Jamie Spencer for owners Qatar Racing and Newsells Park Stud and trainer Ralph Becket, finished first in the Beverly D. by 1 1/4 lengths over Watsdachances, with Stephanie’s Kitten third by a neck.

Racing on the lead in the homestretch, Secret Gesture drifted out several paths, and even after Spencer switched to a right-handed crop, she continued edging toward the stands. Irad Ortiz Jr. on Stephanie’s Kitten, who was closing on the outside, had to steady his mount well inside the final half-furlong. Stephanie’s Kitten lost all momentum and was passed just before the wire by Watsdachances, who was awarded first when Secret Gesture was taken down.

The appeal process goes through the Illinois Racing Board, whose offices re-open Monday, at which point the appeal can formally begin. After the appeal is filed with the IRB, a hearing will be called to examine the incident, but appeals of disqualifications rarely gain traction.

Secret Gesture’s connections are likely to claim Spencer took corrective action by switching his crop, that Stephanie’s Kitten had no chance to catch Secret Gesture regardless of Secret Gesture’s course, and that Ortiz’s reaction on Stephanie’s Kitten, which to some looked excessive given the circumstances, helped cost his mount second place.

But American guidelines regarding disqualifications are different than in England, Secret Gesture’s home base. Here, if stewards judge a horse’s action have cost another horse a placing, they essentially are required to make a disqualification.