Lee closes to within one of Keane on in-form Mickey The Steel

Mickey The Steel has really got the hang of winning now as he supplemented recent glory in Dundalk with another success in Navan for trainer Joseph Murray.

It took him until his 25th outing to get off the mark in Dundalk last Friday night, but he quickly backed that up in the Blackcastle Handicap over five furlongs under the 7lb penalty.

Billy Lee did the steering on the top weight (10-3) and with this victory cut Colin Keane's lead over him in the jockey's title race to one - 85 to 84.

Lee settled the four-year-old gelding behind the leaders and worked his mount into a challenging position inside the final furlong.

The pair swept through to lead with less than 100 yards to go and kept on well to prevail by a length. He went off 2/1 favourite from a morning price of 11/2. Jon Riggens finished nicely for second at 5/1. Four-timer-seeking Harry's Hill (13/2) was collared by Mickey The Steel and dropped to 3rd close home.

Lee said: “I’d a lovely run all the way through. I was following Harry’s Hill and he towed me into the race nicely. 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. He’d a lot of weight but he’s done it well.”

Additional reporting by Alan Magee