Michael had been aiming to make his comeback to riding at the Tauranga meeting late last month but was unable to make the weight on eventual winner Divine Dive which was a major disappointment to him.
"My first ride back would have been a winner but I couldn't make the weight which was very disappointing," he says.
"To bounce back from that and pick up a winner so quickly feels great as I have been away for a very long time.Now that I'm back I just want to get back in that winning groove as best I can."
Michael is candid about the reasons why he took an extended break from racing and the struggles he has both mentally and physically.
"I just struggle with how things go on the racecourse at times and that affects my off-course behaviour and what happens outside of racing," he says.
"It just got too much for me for a bit, so I decided to step away for a while and to get myself right. I just try not to think about racing and to spend time with my family who are such a big part of my life. My family is always there for me and have been a huge support network while I have been away from racing."
Michael will concentrate on riding freelance from his Cambridge base although he does work closely with the Tony Pike stable and is keen to take advantage of the opportunities available to him from the Pike team.
"I'm riding freelance and at Tony Pike's in Cambridge," he says.
"I just want to keep myself right and to try and ease the pressure on me as I work my way back into things. My weight is going well, as at my worst, I was up to 70kg but with a lot of gym work and a sensible diet I'm now at 57.5kg and finding it much easier to maintain that weight. I'm trying to do it right and keep focused."
He says he is feeling really well.
"I'm enjoying it and getting up in the morning looking forward to the day. It's nice now there's a bit of sunshine around as it makes me want to get outside and rip into it. My goal is to ride winners and make it easy for trainers to put me on their horses with confidence.
"Tony has some really lovely horses in his team so I want to make the most of the opportunities I get from him."
Michael started his riding career back in the 2001/2002 season and has ridden 317 career winners including 20 at stakes level.
Amongst his career highlights is winning the 2019 Gr.1 Telegraph (1200m) aboard the Michael and Matthew Pitman-trained Enzo's Lad and the 2019 Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) on the Tony Pike-trained Loire.