Harry Bentley believes Spicy Marg can serve it up to her elders in the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes at York after coming through a racecourse gallop with flying colours at Newmarket on Friday.
The Group One winning rider will bid to bag another top flight victory during his fleeting visit back to Britain from his current base in Hong Kong aboard the Starspangledbanner filly in the £600,000 feature on the Knavesmire a week today.
In order to get acquainted with the Michael Bell-trained filly the 33-year-old, who has been riding full-time in Hong Kong since 2021, partnered the two-time race winner in a gallop on the July Course in front of the Newmarket handler. Working over five furlongs the Elb Bloodstock Ltd-owned filly moved smartly alongside her lead horse before going on to pass the post with about a length in hand leaving Bentley excited for her Group One debut.
Bentley said: “I’m very happy with the filly and it was a nice piece of work. I gave her a little pipe opener there, but it was just good to get acquainted with her and get a feel for her ahead of the big day next week. It is great to be back on a horse in a Group One over here. Any jockey would say the Group Ones are the ones you want to be on board for.
"I was really impressed with her at Goodwood and she looks a real interesting addition to the race. I’m really happy with her and looking forward to the race. I’m hoping she can go close.”
While not on board for her latest win in the British Stallion Studs EBF Alice Keppel Fillies’ Conditions Stakes at Goodwood, it was down at the Sussex venue where the wheels were put in motion for Bentley to pick up the ride in the Nunthorpe.
He added: “I was actually at Goodwood on the Wednesday. I just went racing to see a few people and just enjoy a day out. I saw Michael, and Emma (Banks, owner), in the winning owners area when Spicy Marg had just won. I hadn’t seen Michael for a long time, or Emma, so I went in to say hello and we got chatting and that was the end of that. A day or two later Michael got in touch to say if we did supplement her would you be interested in taking the ride off a lightweight and I was obviously very happy to accept it."
Equally delighted with the exercise was Classic-winning trainer Bell, who believes Spicy Marg is worth connections stumping up the £40,000 supplementary fee for the race.
Bell said: “She is in very good form. We have got a few health checks to do because as we are supplementing her we have got to dot every I and cross every T. Visually that looked great and she is going to go in there as a live player. Harry was going to come up and ride her work, but Newmarket Racecourses very kindly let us use the July Course. She wasn’t going any faster than she would have been on the gallops, but this was the best ground to work on.”
And although Spicy Marg has tasted defeat on both of her Group Two outings in Queen Mary at Royal Ascot, and on her sole start over six furlongs in the Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket, Bell believes there are valid reasons for those reversals.
He added: “We have had a couple of wobbles. She was in season at Royal Ascot then she saw too much daylight over six furlongs here (in the Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes), but we were back on track in the Alice Keppel. On that evidence, which is pretty strong evidence, she deserves to be running. Her two best runs over five furlongs, when things have gone right, shows she deserves to be there.”
Spicy Marg working at @NewmarketRace this morning under @HarryBentley_ ahead of the @coolmorestud Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes at @yorkracecourse next week 🚀 pic.twitter.com/YENmCxxWf1
— Sporting Life Racing (@SportingLife) August 15, 2025
However, another factor as to why Bell was keen to roll the dice on the Knavesmire with Spicy Marg was the impressive record her dam, Main Desire, had at the track before her retirement.
He added: “The weight-for-age allowance is very significant, but the thing that I’m very sweet on is that her mother, Main Desire, won two stakes races over five furlongs on the Knavesmire. I think it is in the genes that she is going to be effective on the track and I think it is very relative."
Bell is no stranger to tasting victory in the Nunthorpe having claimed it back in 2011 with Margot Did. And he believes Spicy Marg is up there with the best he has trained.
He added: “She stacks up very favourably. I said very early on I thought she was good, but it is up to her now, however we have always been very sweet on her. Before the Guineas meeting, where she won, she did a particularly good bit of work and I thought then we had something out of the top drawer. She has had a couple of darts in black-type races, and misfired, but we are hoping we know why that was.”
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