The battle between Gary Carroll and Ben Curtis at the top of the apprentice table has certainly been tit for tat and half an hour after the success of the latter on Raise The Rafters current title holder Carroll struck back to level matters when he got Walter De La Mare home the neck winner of the Foley's Bar & Off Licence Sligo Handicap.

Walter De La Mare, a course and distance winner here from August 24th, made all but he had dangers hovering all around him as they approached the straight.

However the son of Barathea, who was sweating plenty, had the rails position around the bend and he benefited from a strong Carroll drive to hold off Golden Nugget and Palm Ridge by a neck and a head.

Carroll said of the John Murphy-trained and Philip Caffrey (Chairman of the Curragh committee) owned Walter De La Mare: "He stuck at it well, he was brave. He is only a three-year-old and there should be plenty of improvement left to come. He could make a nice hurdler."

Carroll was completing a 98/1 double on Walter De La Mare as he'd earlier partnered Michael Mulvany's Going Gaga to success.