Lightening Pearl retired Last year's Cheveley Park Stakes winner Lightening Pearl has been retired to the paddocks. The filly gave trainer Ger Lyons and owner Sheikh Fahad their first Group One success but after disappointing at Leopardstown last night, the decision has been taken to draw stumps on her career. With the limited programme for three-year-old sprinters, Lyons feels it is the right thing to do. "She hasn't been giving us the vibes this year, which I was afraid of as her mum and her sister didn't train-on," said Lyons. "She's very small and light and she won a Group One last season. I pushed David (Redvers, racing manager) to let me run her last night as opposed to going to York to find out the inevitable - it was the right thing to do. "There were no excuses ground wise, the ground was good to firm in the straight. She arrived there two-out if good enough, but she didn't show any signs of encouragement that she was in love with the job. "She's won a Group One, you can draw a line through the Guineas because of what happened at the start, and you could persevere, but I don't see what she could achieve as a three-year-old filly. They are in no-man's land. "I said we had nothing to achieve so we should put her out - her pedigree suggested she may not train on. "She'll always hold a (special) place for me. I trained Sheikh Fahad his first winner and also his first Group One winner and I hope it's the start of a long relationship. "The Sheikh is very knowledgeable and sent me a nice text last night thanking us."
