It was a Caspar Fownes blitz early in proceedings at Sha Tin on Sunday, with Sky Darci the headline act of a quick-fire treble that catapulted the affable handler back into the lead in the fight for the trainers’ title.

After taking out the first race with Tailor Made, Fownes snared the feature thanks to Sky Darci’s victory in the Group Three Lion Rock Trophy (1,600m) before winning the fourth event with Green Envy to move to 66 winners for the season, one clear of John Size.

“It’s alive, there’s a long way to go but I’m just going to do my best,” said Fownes, who completed his second Sha Tin treble in eight days.

“I’m sure John will keep churning the winners out and I’m going to keep doing the same. All I can give is 100 per cent and I’m giving that.”

Seventy days after his Hong Kong Derby win, Sky Darci made a triumphant return to the racetrack and Fownes already has one eye on December’s Hong Kong International Races.

“At the end of the day, we’re very happy to bring him back from the Derby. There’s always pressure on you to get these horses to come back and perform,” he said.

“It looks like we’ve got something to work with going forward to December. He’s a good horse and he’s probably still got another length and a half to two lengths in him over the next 12 months. If he can do that all of sudden he’s a serious horse.”

While the Group One Hong Kong Mile looks the best fit for Sky Darci, taking that path would put the four-year-old on a collision course with superstar miler Golden Sixty and Fownes said he’ll keep an open mind about the best option for international day.

“I’m not afraid of one particular horse, I’m there to try and beat them – I want to knock them off the perch,” he said.

“He’s a sprinter-miler in my mind and he’s showing us that so we’ll just try to pick the best possible options and avoid the champions if they really are a champion but like anything in this game, they are only there for a certain period of time before they get knocked off their perch.

“He’ll come back and have a 1,200m run early in the season so we’ll just see what he does there. He’s versatile and he should be a bigger and better horse with the summer break under his belt.”

Against only six rivals in the Lion Rock Trophy, Joao Moreira sat just behind midfield aboard Sky Darci before pushing the button straightening for home and claiming Healthy Happy 250m out.

But while it looked for a moment like Sky Darci would pull away to win comfortably enough, Healthy Happy – who travelled just off leader Ka Ying Star in the run – was up for the fight and only a short head separated the pair crossing the line.

“On paper it looked a nice comeback race for him, 115 [pounds] on his back and a nice soft draw,” Fownes said.

“Obviously the second horse is a horse we respected coming into the race because we didn’t think there was much pace. There were only two known leaders – [Ka Ying Star and Healthy Happy] – so we respected him and obviously he gave us quite a scare the last 100m.”

Punters will likely get one last look at Sky Darci this season, with Fownes leaning towards the Group Three Premier Cup (1,400m) ahead of the Group Three Premier Plate (1,800m) on June 20.

“I’ll make a decision but I believe [it will be 1,400m], off a fast pace just come and go bang,” the trainer said.

“We’ll just see how he pulls up, the weather is getting quite warm now but if he’s well and he’s eating up and he’s got a spring in his step there’s no reason he can’t have one more race.”