Grade 1 winner Illuminant retired from racing

Illuminant, a Grade 1 winner, has been retired from racing.

Trainer Michael McCarthy said the 5-year-old Quality Road mare displayed signs of minor discomfort coming out of a workout last week, and follow-up tests showed enough accumulated wear to convince owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, SF Bloodstock and Sol Kumin to retire her.

Illuminant finished her racing career with six wins in 14 starts for earnings of $536,243. The turf specialist ran all but two of her starts in California, taking the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes last year, and the Grade 2 Monrovia Stakes in her final start on May 27.

The mare also won the non-graded Wishing Well Stakes to begin her 5-year-old campaign, and made her second trip to Keeneland to run in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes, a race in which she finished third last year.

“Illuminant was Grade 1 in every sense of the word, said Aron Wellman, president of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. “She was a beast of a mare who took our partners on a magical ride during her career.

“Michael did a masterful job developing her and it'll be tough to walk down his shedrow and not see that jet black beauty behind a webbing,” he continued. “That said, she owes us nothing and we'll keep a close eye on her offspring as she figures to be an incredible broodmare.”

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Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners bought Illuminant for $180,000 at the 2014 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March sale of 2-year-olds in training. Following her Grade 1 victory, she was offered at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall select mixed sale, and sold to SF Bloodstock for $900,000. Eclipse stayed on as a partner after the sale, and added Kumin’s Head of Plains Partners.

“Illuminant provided us with some wonderful thrills this season,” said Tom Ryan of SF Bloodstock. “It was a punch to the gut to arrive at the decision to retire her because she's been working exceptionally well and we had a Grade 1 campaign mapped out for her, but it's an honor to be associated with a filly of her caliber and we'll now focus on her next chapter.”