Cashing in on eight high-profile years as police commissioner, Francis M. (Mickey) Roache captured second place in the preliminary City Council election yesterday, while Albert L. (Dapper) O'Neil recovered his customary place as the leading vote-getter.

With all 254 precincts reporting, O'Neil was in first place with 22,333 votes, more than 3,000 ahead of his nearest challenger. But while Roache had been expected by many observers to place in the top four in the race, he surprised nearly everyone by roaring ahead of two incumbents, Richard Iannella and Peggy Davis-Mullen.

Iannella finished six votes ahead of Davis-Mullen, the council's most bitter and entertaining antagonists. Rounding out the field of eight contestants for the November final were: Michael Flaherty Jr. of South Boston; Stephen J. Murphy of Hyde Park; Paul Gannon of South Boston; and Frank N. Jones of Jamaica Plain.