Master Milliner and Charlie Bishop© Photo Healy Racing
Master Milliner regained his title for Emma Lavelle and Charles Bishop in the Coral Goodwood Handicap.
The eight-year-old won the race under Sean Levey in 2022, but has been seldom seen since after missing the whole of 2023.
His two runs this year have seen him well beaten, and at Goodwood he was a 25-1 chance under Bishop when slightly overlooked in a field of 18. But over a trip just exceeding two and a half miles he travelled patiently throughout and stayed best of all to stride to a length-and-three-quarter triumph over Hughie Morrison’s Premier Ligne.
“He’s had a chequered history health-wise, because he had meningitis when he was three. Not many horses come through that, but we were very patient with him,” said owner Bill Simpson.
“Last year Emma noticed he wasn’t quite right so we gave him a year off and this year he’s come back, obviously needed the runs, but it’s a it’s a wonderful piece of training by Emma Lavelle and a fabulous ride by Charles.
“We were very confident that he still had the interest and the ability, so it’s just a wonderful day.
“I think a lot of people would probably have given up when he was in hospital for 10 days or more, costing a fortune, but it does make it very, very sweet for him to come back and run like that and break the course record apparently.
“He’s a fabulous horse and we’ll keep him forever because he’ll make a fabulous dressage horse at some stage.”
John and Thady Gosden’s Assailant thwarted a Wathnan Racing treble when holding off the fast-finishing 7-4 favourite Wafei in the concluding Coral Play Racing-Super-Series For Free Handicap.
The Bjorn Nielsen-owned son of Dubawi was always towards the head of proceedings in the hands of Oisin Murphy and although Wafei applied late pressure once finding daylight, Assailant always seemed to have the race under control as they came home three-quarters of a length clear at odds of 16-5.
“Well I think first of all he likes the ground, he’s a top of the ground horse,” said John Gosden.
“He got it at Ascot (in the King George V Stakes), but unfortunately he was drawn in car park number one, which is never much of a help if you are going a mile and a half at Ascot.
“He’s progressive, obviously he’s shown that today, but let’s face it the favourite was a classic ‘boxed-in’, the cutaway has gone and you are on the rail, you are drawn down there and they take a little breather and it’s hard to get out. Luckily for us he got out too late.
“We’ll see what that cruel man called the handicapper does and after that we’ll make our plans from there.
“I’m perfectly happy we go a notch up to a mile and a half, the jockey said that.”
