Tiger set to bite in the 2025 Carlyon Stakes

Trainer Clayton Douglas is confident Tiger Shark’s familiarity with Moonee Valley will be a valuable asset when she tackles the Listed Norman Carlyon Stakes (1000m) this Saturday.

The Rich Enuff mare debuted for Douglas at The Valley on August 9 in a Benchmark 100 and now returns to the scene aiming for a stakes-level victory. Already a black-type winner in Queensland, her new stable goal is to build on that record, with the Group 1 Moir Stakes on September 6 looming as a possible next step.

Although typically an on-pacer, Tiger Shark was ridden more patiently first-up and closed strongly behind the leaders, giving Douglas encouragement that she will be better suited second-up around the tricky circuit.

“We rode her a little bit more conservatively than she generally had been before,” Douglas said.

“She raced more on speed in Queensland, but it worked out with Midwest leading, we were able to take a trail.

“I just felt that her first time this way of going she just wanted to crab around the corner, so she should take benefit from her first run at The Valley.

“I’m really happy with how she’s done since her last run as she only had the one jump-out leading into it and she seems to have tightened up nicely.

“She’s a Stakes winner already and we wanted to see where she measures up to in this grade and you’ve got to say she measures up alright on what she did the other day and there’s nice improvement to come.”

Douglas believes blinkers could unlock further improvement at some stage in her career, though he has resisted using them at this point.

“She hasn’t had headgear on in her life and that might be the telling difference,” Douglas said. “Hopefully she gets even luck on the weekend.”

The Norman Carlyon Stakes has drawn a field of nine, with Tiger Shark to jump from barrier eight under Luke Currie.

Punters keen to support Tiger Shark in the Norman Carlyon Stakes can find top odds at the nation’s leading betting sites.