Shoemaker scores for Magic Mike

Danie Toerien

Is he good, is he a star, or is he going to be a superstar?

That’s the question posed to trainer Mike de Kock after Shoemaker retained his unbeaten record in the card opener at Turffontein on Saturday on Champions Day.

He scored his second career victory in Race 1, a Juvenile Plate over 1600m.

“It’s a bit soon to make those predictions,” said De Kock in the parade ring after the race.

"With two-year-olds, and the weight for age scale, horses often improve out of proportion.

“I think he’s a really nice horse, that I am prepared to say. He’s a straight-forward horse, but he is still fairly immature.

“He’s going into the fridge now, on ice and if we want to run him again this season, we might run him in a feature in the back end of the KZN season.

"He’s going to get a nice beak now and we will let nature take its course," concluded the multiple champion trainer.