Caspar Fownes extended his trainers’ championship lead with a treble at Happy Valley on Wednesday night in tandem with Joao Moreira, which included Forza Toro in the Class Four Eight To Glory (1,650m).

Fownes currently sits on top of the table with 69 wins – six clear of Danny Shum Chap-shing, who he has battled with for the lead throughout the season and also struck with a double on the night.

“It’s been a fight tonight. I knew [Shum] was going to bring a few, but like I’ve always said, I’ve always planned for the last few meetings to keep some bullets and we needed them tonight. If I didn’t land anything, he’d be right there with me going into the last two meetings, so it’s game on now,” Fownes said.

Fownes was ecstatic when celebrating his third win for the night, as he moves closer to clinching a fifth championship with only two meetings left this season.

“That celebration was from the heart – I’ve got so much pent-up feeling, this is all so stressful and as much as I try to hold it all in, sometimes I have to release it and I am what I am. I’m in a good position and very happy with where I am – I’ve still got a lot of bullets for the last two days as well,” Fownes said.

The Eight To Glory saw a unique concept come to life on Wednesday, combining football and racing – eight runners lined up wearing silks inspired by the quarter-final teams in the Fifa World Cup, with Joao Moreira and Forza Toro flying the colours of Spain.

“All the credit should go to [Fownes] and the team who have done an amazing job. I’ve got to say I’m just the lucky guy to be part of it – an amazing night. You couldn’t ask for a better night,” Moreira said.

Jumping well from barrier one, the four-year-old son of Acclaim controlled the race for the entire trip and gave nothing else a chance, securing a breakthrough win by an impressive three lengths over Podium.

Jumbo Blessing produced a huge performance to triumph in the Class Four Volley Handicap (1,000m) after making a mess of the start. The well-supported $2.85 favourite seemed a forlorn hope only to recover and sweep down the outside to record a comfortable half-length win over Beauty Show.

Fownes hit three for the night when Dancing Classics overcame a wide trip from barrier 10 to score easily in the Class Three Breakaway Handicap (1,000m), delivering by two and a half lengths over Candlelight Dinner with blinkers applied for the first time.

“Dancing Classics was a little bit disappointing last start and I said ‘right, you’re having a lend of us, so time for the blinkers’. Don’t forget, this is a horse that was off for two seasons before he ran and won his first start for us,” Fownes said.

“I know he’s a very talented horse and hopefully that’s the winning move now where he’ll go on with it and now be quite smart. He was three-wide throughout but was trucking up there and Joao said he really took to the blinkers well – he was really focused and went through the line well.”

Moreira also credited the blinkers for the considerable improvement from the five-year-old.

“The key to get him to win today was to get the blinkers on. Caspar did it himself – he didn’t even ask me and I’m happy that he’s done the job,” Moreira said.

Shum’s double kicked off with The Perfect Match, with everything going to plan from barrier one in the Class Four Goal Handicap (1,200m). Jerry Chau Chun-lok settled midfield on the fence aboard the five-year-old and after hitting a gap in the straight, he put Looking Bright away by three quarters of a length.

“He always gets a bad draw, but today he was lucky and got barrier one. When he gets in a good position it’s much easier for him – he struggles when he is too far back,” Shum said.

Shum went back-to-back with the shortest-priced favourite of the night, Leading Agility at $1.7, leading all the way to take out the Class Four Header Handicap (1,200m).

A perfect steer by Zac Purton saw Leading Agility dictate from the front to hold off Forerunner by half a length.

“He got a reasonable draw and the inside is good today – Zac did a great job. You can see he sweated tonight and did the same last start, so he needs to be a bit calmer before his races so he doesn’t burn so much energy. He hopefully can improve more,” Shum said.

Purton also recorded a double on the night thanks to the Jamie Richards-trained Happy United, bringing up 140 winners for the term.