Clayton Douglas | Clayton Douglas News 64147 Leopard Shark Strikes At Pakenham

Leopard Shark produced an impressive performance at Pakenham on 5 February, breaking through for a well-deserved maiden win at just her third career start and continuing the stable’s strong run of results this season.

Contesting the Hygain Edge 2YO Maiden Plate over 1200 metres, Leopard Shark was the only filly in the five-horse field. She entered the race off a solid effort in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Preview (Fillies) at Caulfield over 1000 metres, and that race experience proved invaluable.

Ridden patiently by Jye McNeil, she settled at the tail of the field before being asked to improve in the straight, producing a sharp turn of foot to score by 2.75 lengths.

Trainer Clayton Douglas was full of praise post-race.
“She’s just such a professional. Having those early runs has really helped. She’s a lovely filly with a beautiful action and it’s great to get a result for our owners. Jeff (Allis) has been a terrific supporter of mine for a long time, so it’s exciting to have another nice filly for him. She’s one to look forward to as a three-year-old.”

McNeil said the filly adapted well to how the race unfolded.
“She’s very versatile. We adapted to a situation where it looked like we were going steady early, there wasn’t many positions and she dropped the head to come back in behind them.”

“That set her up for a really good finish. She hit the front too early and got a bit of the wanders up, probably the first time she’s been in that position, but she was way too good for them tonight.”

The daughter of Churchill, out of a city-winning Smart Missile mare, was purchased for $26,000 from Book 2 of the 2025 Inglis Premier Sale.

Congratulations to all connections on the win.