Mark van Deventer
Illuminator, the inaugural winner of the CTS Million Dollar in January 2016, died of complications from colic on Tuesday.
He was found thrashing around in his box last week and swiftly attended to by his groom in the early hours of the morning. Illuminator sustained cuts to his head and leg, and was operated on by 9 a.m. According to distressed part-owner Ian Robinson, the surgery could not save him, “Most of his intestines were black and, after cutting, there was not enough healthy gut to re-attach. We could not get him to pass anything and he just seemed to get worse and worse. Eventually, we took him to Glen Puller’s farm, gave him a shot of morphine where he passed away.”
Illuminator only raced six times, starting his career by winning with a flashy closing burst at long odds in September 2015. He won his next start easily enough down the Kenilworth straight before finishing under a length behind Hard Day’s Night in the Selangor Cup and three lengths off Noah From Goa in the Grade 1 Guineas. That was followed by a second place finish in the Sophomore Sprint before his heroics in the CTS Million Dollar over 1400m when again using a powerful finishing rally to upset favourite, Silver Mountain, Victorious Jay and Seventh Plain.
An intended raid to KZN during the winter of 2016 was thwarted when he cracked a cannon bone during exercise. A successful operation was carried out and Illuminator was getting fit and ready for action when the dreaded colic struck so suddenly. Trainer Glen Puller has endured a horrible year – the tragic loss of his son, jockey Christopher Puller, Illuminator’s demise as well as the passing of some close friends are proving hard to bear. “These things are sent to try us…” he said bravely.
Illuminator was bred by champion breeders Klawervlei Stud. Sired by boom stallion Trippi out of the Al Mufti mare Pacific Lights, he was well bought for just R180 000 at the Cape Premier Yearling Sale in March 2014. Puller accurately labelled Illuminator as one of the best he had ever been associated with after the second sprint win. That astute opinion was vindicated by subsequent performances in a terribly short, yet sparkling career.