AFTER firing in a double at Gowran the previous afternoon Billy Lee kept up the pressure in the jockey’s championship with another precious success that saw him close to within one of Colin Keane heading into last night’s Dundalk fixture.

Four unanswered winners for Keane last weekend featured a treble at Dundalk last Friday and it was on that card that Joe Murray’s long standing and ultra consistent Mickey The Steel finally shed his maiden tag.

That Lisa Sheridan and John Lynch-owned gelding was back in action here with Lee on board and he duly followed up under top weight in the five-furlong handicap to justify 2/1 favouritism. On perhaps the most testing ground that has been offer this flat season Mickey The Steel came with a good challenge to lead inside the distance and he stuck to his task well to hold Jon Riggens by a length.

“I’d a lovely run all the way through,” remarked Lee. “I didn’t really want to leave the outside rail so I kept sitting a bit longer and he gained confidence from it. As soon as I picked him up he picked up well and he stuck it out well. It’s hard going out there now.”

Stanhope enhanced his decent Navan record in the 47-70 rated five-furlong handicap which provided the John McConnell-trained eight-year-old with his third track success. The 20/1 shot moved to the head of a reasonably well grouped field entering the final furlong and stuck to his task well for Mikey Sheehy to hold on by a neck from Teddy Boy whose record in this race now stands at two wins, a second and a fourth from four appearances. The winner is owned by the Galaxy Horse Racing Syndicate and was taking advantage of a career low mark of 51.

ODDS-on punters were dealt a blow in the opener as Decorated My Life (9/1) turned over the 1/2 chance Ardad’s Great in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Median Auction Maiden over an extended five furlongs.

Although she lined off three unplaced efforts the Linda Shanahan and Emily Magnier-owned daughter of Mehmas did run well for a long way in the Group 3 Weld Park Stakes at the Curragh last month and the drop back to sprinting coupled with first-time cheekpieces worked in her favour. From some way out the winner and the favourite had the race to themselves and Andy Slattery’s mount kept pulling that little bit more to contain the market leader and carry the day by a neck.

“She toughed it out well to the line,” declared trainer Fozzy Stack. “I knew she’d get the trip well and she did it well. Maybe we overfaced her the last couple of times but hopefully she might get to that level yet and she’ll be a nice filly for next year, she’s got plenty of size and scope.”

Further woe for odds-on shots followed in the older horses’ sprint maiden where Daisy Jones (10/11) had to settle for a close third behind Magical Vision (16/1).

The Aidan Howard-trained winner only made her racecourse debut at the age of five at the Curragh last month and she showed promise on that occasion when ninth to Life In Colour. The benefit of that initial outing was significant for Magical Vision as it enabled her to reverse form with the favourite who was beaten a nose in that Curragh event.

Chris Hayes was on board the Alana Insole-owned daughter of Dragon Pulse who held every chance from well over a furlong out and led inside the distance before holding the strong-finishing Cavallo Pazzo by a head.

Surprise

It didn’t get any easier for punters in the three-year-old 10-furlong handicap as Jim Bolger’s Bridge Of Dawn returned from close to 14 months off to spring a 66/1 surprise. The Jackie Bolger-owned son of Dawn Approach was clearly none the worse for his absence from the track and after showing ability in his three outings last year, he took a step forward on his comeback.

Kevin Manning allowed him to make the running from before halfway and Bridge Of Dawn kept on bravely in the straight after electing to stick to the far rail. Allhies, who was the only other runner to keep over on the far side of the track, was bearing down late on but the leader bravely held him off to score by half a length.

“It’s his first run since being gelded,” commented Manning. “He was a weak individual last year and he’s still a bit raw. He’s a big, angular horse and will keep strengthening up.”