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Crocodile Shoes thriving in the Freedman stable

Crocodile Shoes, a promising Irish 4YO Colt by a champion sire, is thriving in the hands of Lee and Anthony Freedman since his arrival to Australia late in 2016.

The well put-together bay colt is a son of champion sire, Galileo who has produced 233 stakes winners including the 2014 Cox Plate champion, Adelaide. Galileo is a stallion that needs no introduction. He boasts an impressive 68% runners to winner strike rate and his progeny has claimed Group 1 success around the world.

Crocodile Shoes is out of the Stravinsky mare, Mythical Echo, who has had four foals to race for two winners.

Although lightly raced, Crocodile Shoes has already broken his maiden and shown enough ability to suggest he will measure up to better Australian staying races. He was dominant in his Roscommon win three starts back. His time over the 2000m was quicker than the subsequent 3YO Open Handicap run 30 minutes later.

Crocodile Shoes is a tractable horse who can put himself on speed but is just as happy to drop his head and relax when asked to take cover. His versatile racing style is ideally suited to Australian staying events where he will give his trainer and jockey tactical options come race day.

Trainer, Anthony Freedman said of Crocodile Shoes: “

I first inspected this horse in early January after his arrival in Australia. To the eye, he was a lovely type, with a good temperament and the confirmation of a good horse.

When the horse arrived at our stables in mid-February, he had clearly flourished during the first 6 weeks or so in the country, and as a result, I found him to be the a most appealing type. He has settled into the stable well, he eats well, seems very sound and most importantly has a great attitude towards his work.

Given the breeding and his racing performances in Europe, I’m very confident that we have exciting horse on our hands. Naturally, it will take 6 months or so, to get him use to the Australian way of doing things, but come next year we hope he is up to our quality staying races.”

The colt’s UK rating of 87 should see him rated in the low-to-mid-70’s which will allow him to start his Australian career in a middle-distance Benchmark 78 before potentially progressing to a midweek metropolitan race thereafter.

As he will still be a 5YO in the spring, we anticipate he will take a progressive route through his grades with the autumn of 2018 being the time he can start attacking high-quality staying races.

The future is very bright for this lightly-raced, progressive staying prospect.