Toimy Son defies widest draw to land Golden Mile under an 'absolute peach' of a ride from Oisin Murphy

David Menuisier admitted to "losing all hope" when Toimy Son was drawn wide in the Coral Golden Mile but it was soon restored by Oisin Murphy.

The five-year-old raced wide after breaking from stall 21 before sweeping down the outside to power two lengths clear of 20-1 shot Dutch Decoy.

"I bought him 18 months ago and he wasn't doing anything last year," said Menuisier, alongside his young daughter Lucy. "We decided to geld him before an all-weather campaign. He had a couple of colic operations so we gave him time and this season he's started to come back to form.

"I kept him over seven furlongs as he was always a bit keen but he started to settle with racing so we went back to a mile. We thought he'd be competitive if he got in this but lost all hope when we saw the draw. Oisin still felt if the horse did his best he would have a good chance."

Menuisier described the ride given by Murphy on Toimy Son, who chased home Royal Hunt Cup winner Wild Tiger in May, as an "absolute peach".

The jockey added: "It's hard to win these competitive handicaps and he had a terrible draw but he showed a good turn of foot. Kyle Strydom has done a lot of work with him – thanks to him and all the team at David's for getting the horse here in great shape.

"I revved him up at the start because he can be slowly away and it worked. He broke better but I couldn't use up too much petrol. He travelled and picked up well."

Murphy, who finished second in two Group races on Thursday, followed up when Assailant won the 1m3f handicap for John and Thady Gosden.

The three-year-old, who runs in the black and yellow silks of Bjorn Nielsen, finished three-quarters of a length clear of the 7-4 favourite Wafei.

Master Milliner regains crown

Master Milliner repeated his victory in the unique Goodwood Handicap with a dogged performance under Charlie Bishop.

The Emma Lavelle-trained chestnut made light work of the standing flag start in front of the stands and, after being positioned prominently in the marathon contest, took up the running with a furlong and a half to run.

He was forced to show Paisley Park-like staying power to hold off the late surge of Premiere Ligne in the closing stages, but eventually asserted towards the centre of the track to win by a length and a quarter at 25-1.

Master Milliner: won his second Goodwood Handicap under Charlie BishopCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Lavelle was not present for the celebrations but Bishop praised the trainer for her perseverance in getting the eight-year-old back into the winner's enclosure after sustaining a leg injury that sidelined him for 640 days from September 2022.

"He's a credit to Emma and her team," he said. "They've done a great job to get him back on track, they've had lots of patience and he's repaying them again. He loves this track and distance and I think that was the key. These extreme distances really play to his strengths.

"He's the easiest horse you could get really. He stood in front of the tapes, popped off and I could have sat wherever I wanted. He's a dream."

Wathnan double

Wathnan Racing added their second and third winners of the week in quick succession courtesy of Haunted Dream and two-year-old Artagnan.

Haunted Dream provided leading Qatari trainer Hamad Al Jehani, who is currently based in Newmarket, with his first success at the meeting. The five-year-old, formerly trained by Ed Dunlop, recorded only his second success on turf when beating Cairo by half a length under James Doyle.

Artagnan sprang a surprise in the following nursery when staying on best to beat Cayman Tai for Karl Burke and David Egan.

"It's tremendous to get a couple more winners," said Richard Brown, racing adviser to Wathan Racing. "It's particularly important for Hamad. All of his horses have run with great credit and it's important for him to get a Goodwood winner, while it was a great performance from Artagnan."

Read these next:

'Amazing horse' Big Evs exacts revenge on Asfoora as pair set up Nunthorpe clash after thrilling King George 

'He hasn't had the rub of the green' - John Gosden backs stable jockey Kieran Shoemark after Thoroughbred Stakes win 

Looking for free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.