THE SIDELINES : Shoemaker Wins 1 Down Under

l Shoemaker, who has won more than 8,800 horse races worldwide, scored his first triumph in Australia today.

His victory Down Under came in the Moe Cup, a race held annually in a small Australian bush town. Shoemaker, visiting for the first time as part of a farewell tour, rode 8-1 shot Cosign to victory, which offered total prize money of only $40,000.

Shoemaker’s visit captivated the small coal mining town of Moe, west of Melbourne.

“This has made my visit to Australia one of my best moments in racing,” Shoemaker, 58, said after riding Cosign to a 1 3/4-lengths win over Ima Red Man.

“I’ve been going to come to Australia many times over the past 20 years only to be disappointed through home commitments, and I did not want to go back to America without a winner,” he said.