Kommetdieding heads up the final field for the R2-million TAB The Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m.
The Grade 1 race is the main event on Saturday’s Champions Day card on the Standside track at Turffontein.
There are two Grade 1 races taking place at the meeting, the second being the Computaform Sprint over 1000m.
The TAB The Champion’s Challenge is one of the “Big Four” races in the country and it looks all systems go for Kommetdieding to add the third of these to the two he has already won, the Durban July and Cape Town Met. The fourth is the Summer Cup.
Kommetdieding, trained by the father and daughter team of Harold Crawford and Michelle Rix, is the best handicapped runner under the weight-for-age conditions and has a 3.5kg advantage over MK’s Pride.
Paul Peter’s charge did finish in front of Kommetdieding in the Wilgerbosdrift HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes but that was over 1600m and has yet to prove he will see out 2000m.
Peter also has Shangani and Astrix in the line-up.
Puerto Manzano, who will see out the distance and will have Anton Marcus in the irons, finished second in the Horse Chestnut with Kommetdieding in third, but the champion was having his first race on the Highveld and will be a different proposition this time.
Gavin Lerena will be back in the irons.
The Computaform Sprint is always a thriller and 15 runners have accepted to take on this 1000m dash.
Peter has a strong hand with six speedsters, the best of whom appear to be Master Archie and filly Big Burn.
Brett Crawford has brought talented Real Gone Kid, a winner of six of his 11 races in the Western Cape, to the Highveld for this race while Mike and Adam Azzie send out Bohica, winner of the Grade 1 Cape Flying Championship at Kenilworth in January.
Clive Robinson
