The father-and-son team of Corné and Xander Spies have started their partnership with a bang, saddling a winner per week in the first six weeks of the season and reporting high energy in their Randjesfontein barn.
Xander is very pleased with their progress and said that the Spies machine is firing nicely on all cylinders. They hope to keep their strike rates high with several runners coming through the ranks, including Trompe L’Oeil (Gimmethegreenlight), who ran a close second in open company during the week and can atone soon. “He is a good sort with the 2027 Grade 3 National Currency Sprint as his long-term mission.”
Bisou Bisou (Querari), a good second to Fish Tales in the Grade 2 World Pool Bet With Tote Umkhomazi Stakes, will be making his seasonal debut in a handicap over 1200m at Turffontein on Saturday and Xander said: “He is a top-class gelding. We will restrict him to races up to 1400m, with the Graham Beck Stakes as our first objective.”
Life In Colour (Malmoos) may also go for the Graham Beck Stakes, but he will be comfortable over 1600m and the Grade 2 Betway Dingaans is his potential target. “He is a quirky horse, still learning, but has plenty of ability and good collateral form from his two-year-old career.”
Spirit Of Gabz (Chimichuri Run) has already won up to 1800m and Xander said: “He has already won two handicaps as an early three-year-old. He may have to step up one more notch, but he’s a game gelding and won’t be too far out of his depth in Graded company.”
The Spies stable is most excited about lightly-raced High Fidelity (Vercingetorix), and here’s another runner for punters’ ‘little black book’, as he is still a maiden and unlikely to be such for much longer. “High Fidelity is a talented horse. We expected him to win his last start (Vaal 1400m, June 2026) with no fuss, but he returned with a twisted testicle, so you can draw a line through that. He is one we have high expectations for this season.”
Top filly Hazy Dazy (Act Of War) took on the best male runners in the land and the end of last season, but the stable will be keeping her to features for fillies and mares in 2026/7.
Xander said: “She’s doing nicely and we look forward to a good season. We’ll build her prep into a race like December’s Grade 2 Ipi Tombe Challenge over 1600m.”
The elder statesman, William Robertson (Rafeef), now eight years old and with 17 wins to his name, is not a spent force yet and Xander said: “He loves his work at home as much as ever. He tends to go sour when he’s done a lot of racing, like we saw last season, but he comes back to himself after a two- or three-month break. He is enjoying life and we think he can win again this season.”
William Robertson’s full-brother African Pride is a sprinter capable of a potentially similar streak of wins, and his aim in 2026 will be the Grade 3 New Turf Carriers Merchants Sprint over 1160m. “He ran below his best in the Listed Umgeni Handicap on Gold Cup Day, but was perhaps given too much to do under a big weight. He bounced back with a third place in a competitive Pinnacle Stakes. He is a high quality horse and sprinters normally come into their own at four.” – From Off The Record, TAB News.