Michelle said, “Extremely, extremely happy. Obviously, last year it was a bit difficult (from draw 18), but he overcame it. I’m not one for having lower draws at Hollywoodbets Greyville, so I couldn’t be happier with draw 13.”

 

She said if she had to choose a draw it would be probably be ten.

 

“But I more than happy with draw thirteen and the rest is up to Gavin (Lerena)”.

 

Kommetdieding by all accounts is thriving at Siummerveld. 

 

Michelle said, “I was in Cape Town for the sale this weekend  and Gavin was here to ride him at Summerveld on Saturday. He said, ‘Michelle, he is back to his best.’ Gavin is a guy of very few words, very level headed and calm, so it was quite nice to hear the excitement in his voice!”

 

The pundits are generally concerned about the four-year-old Elusive Fort gelding being able to bounce back from a couple of runs in Johannesbutrg which were fair but below his best form.

 

However, Michelle was not concerned and said, “If anything I think it will give him an edge. We’ve spaced his racing out over the last six months well enough. We’ve given him ample resting time in between races and we haven’t given him a long break coming into the Durban season. I was fairly confident last year and I know what kind of horse we’ve got on our hands … though he has got top weight he is a stronger, more mature horse and I’d like to feel I am very confident again this year.”

 

Kommetdieding will carry 7kg more than he did last year.

On the weight for age scale a horse of his age will have only improved by 2kg, meaning it could be argued he will have to find 5kg of actual improvement to win the race.

Arguing it from a merit rating point of view, he effectively ran off a 124 last year and now runs off a 129, so he has to find 2,5kg of improvement.

 

However, Michelle believes he has made the necessary improvement.

 

She said, “The horse I am working with this year is mentally and physically far stronger than the one we had last year.”

 

She is not concerned about him coming off a layoff of more than two months (his last run was April 30).

 

She said, “If you look at a horse like Al Muthana, he ran behind Kommetdieding in the Horse Chestnut Stakes (April 2) and he’s come out and the Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge (on June 11). So he can do it too.”

 

Probably the most important factor though is that she said he was a completely different horse now to the one he was on the Highveld and he certainly looked it in his recent gallop at Hollywoodbets Greyville.