Cape Town - Cape Town resident Ashwin Reynolds secured a massive victory on Saturday when his horse, the local favourite Kommetdieding, and jockey Gavin Lerena won the 2022 Cape Town Met at Kenilworth Racecourse, which also commemorated the stylish return of the public to horse racing.
This win followed Kommetdieding’s historic victory in the 2021 Durban July, where he became known as the “People’s Champion” after a thrilling performance.
Although Reynolds could not attend the Durban July as a result of Covid-19 regulations at the time, he made up for that on Saturday by being on the track with Kommetdieding’s enthusiastic fans at Kenilworth to celebrate the victory.
Reynolds said he worked as a building contractor but had a passion for horses and horse racing that started when he was 6 years old, after he was told to track the results of horse races for his grandfather.
More than anything, Reynold’s said he was thrilled the horse came through for all of his supporters as, after all, it was the people’s horse.
Lerena and Reynolds congratulated Crawford Rix Racing on the amazing job they did with Kommetdieding, and with their small stable that took on all the big shots and showed them how it was done.
Kommetdieding is now a multiple Grade 1 winner with six wins from just 10 starts.
Crawford Rix Racing trainer Michelle Rix said: “It was a wonderful training experience, and he’s a very easy horse to train, which made our jobs a lot easier. There's normally quite a few hiccups when it comes to training horses, especially at this level, but there were no hiccups with Kommetdieding.”
Celebrities and influencers gathered for the Cape race dressed to the nines under the theme “Glam Garden”.
Kommetdieding was not Reynold’s only winner at the event, though, as his son, Brandon Reynolds, won this year’s best-dressed award for his flamboyant floral suit, together with Trish Vermeulen, who wore a floral number made by South African designer Priscilla Michelle and a headpiece from the Pretoria-based South African School of Hatmaking.
Cape Racing marketing and commercial director Donovon Everitt said: “A lot of work has gone into ensuring that we could welcome back the public and bring back the Cape Town Met as we all know and love it. We are looking forward to building on this success in the coming year.”