The trainers’ championship battle took another decisive swing as Danny Shum Chap-shing collected a double at Sha Tin on Sunday to move two clear of Caspar Fownes at the top of the table.

On a day where Romantic Warrior was, to many, a slam dunk in the Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m), Shum also watched Packing King maintain his unbeaten record for the stable in section two of the Class Four Standard Chartered Corporate & Investment Banking Handicap (1,200m).

The Darci Brahma galloper has thrived since joining Shum from Pierre Ng Pang-chi, making a winning stable debut in April, and he is showing no signs of slowing down with another strong performance one month later.

Sitting on the shoulder of long-time leader Silver Spurs throughout the journey, Zac Purton made his move at the 300m pole and gained the winning break on the field, ultimately winning with more in hand than the one-and-a-half length margin suggests.

He is one to follow for the rest of the campaign and could become crucial to Shum as the championship really begins to take shape with 14 meetings to go.

Searching for his first title, Shum has gained the vast majority of his winners at Happy Valley, and any he can eke out at Sha Tin are likely to prove pivotal as the top of the table begins to space out.

Fownes stays in range

Caspar Fownes also grabbed a crucial – and rare – turf winner at Sha Tin when Monarch County made a mockery of his rivals in section one of the Class Four Standard Chartered Priority Banking Handicap (1,400m).

Of Fownes’ 54 winners, 37 have come at Happy Valley this season, so just his 12th success on the Sha Tin turf could be far more important than it seems come July 15.

It was a much-needed win in the context of the title race and it could not have been done much more easily with Monarch County soaring three and three-quarter lengths clear of his rivals.

Joao Moreira had him settled towards the middle of the pack but once the pair peeled to the middle to make their challenge, the race was over in just a matter of strides, and Fownes is hoping this will not be the last of his wins this campaign.

“It’s nice for the horse to win like that, he’s taken some time but it was an excellent performance. He quickened up really well and if the rain comes later in the season he’ll be even better,” Fownes said.

“He’ll get some points for that and go back into Class Three, but I’ve always believed he was a Class Three horse and now he’ll get the chance to prove it. Hopefully he can get another win before the end of the season.”

Hayes also kept his slim hopes of a third title alive when My Mars saluted in the Class Three Standard Chartered Renminbi Business Handicap (1,200m), though the win still leaves him seven away from Shum on 49 for the season.

There will be plenty of fun to be had with My Mars next campaign, however, with the promising three-year-old making it two wins from three Hong Kong starts with a game performance to fend off a wall of horses.

Hayes, who trained his first winner of the month in the process, speaks in glowing terms about his potential Classic Mile horse.

“This horse is a very good horse for next season, in his classic year, because at his age, if he was unraced he would be in PPG races,” Hayes said.

“So, I think he’s quite a special horse to be doing what he’s doing. I know the margin wasn’t big and the time wasn’t fast, but he just gets the job done. He’s a very, very good young horse.”

Badel at the double

Alexis Badel was another to snag a brace of wins on Sunday, with the tough performance of Six Pack in the Class Two Standard Chartered Global Private Bank Handicap (1,400m) the highlight.

A winner over track and trip earlier this campaign, he followed up that success with a trio of seconds, a third and one fourth from his next five starts, so he certainly was not winning out of turn.

Six Pack tanked into proceedings from a midfield sit, getting the measure of Juneau Pride in a ding-dong finish over the final 200m.

“He’s been a victim of circumstance, so I think that was deserved. I think the mid-race move Andrea [Atzeni on Juneau Pride] made really helped, as it allowed Alexis to get the horse going as there’s a lot of him and he needs stoking up,” trainer Douglas Whyte said.

“He’s got plenty of upside and when horses like him are in a purple patch and their confidence is up, that’s always positive.”

It was the second leg of Badel’s double, with Big Return securing the earlier Class Four Standard Chartered Priority Private Handicap (1,600m).

The Divine Prophet galloper completed a hat-trick when he surged down the middle of the track to collect the prize in the style of a horse who may have even more in the locker.

“He’s done a great job, he’s a typical PP horse – taken a little while to acclimatise,” trainer Jamie Richards said.

“He came from Singapore and probably took a little while to get acclimatised to going in the other direction. To put three together is a really good effort.”

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