Tomorrow night's Happy Valley meeting looms as a crucial juncture in the ongoing battle for the trainers' championship, and it appears reigning champion Caspar Fownes is the man to follow when building Triple Trio tickets.

Fownes had to sit on the sidelines on Sunday as title rivals John Moore and John Size snared three wins apiece, giving Moore a five-win lead in the championship over both Fownes and Size, 58 to 53.

However, Fownes has always performed better at the city track compared to his two rivals. This season, he has won 26 from 176 at Happy Valley at a rate of 14.77 per cent, compared with Moore's nine from 97 at 9.28 per cent and Size's 11 from 121 at 9.09 per cent.

It is Happy Valley that will make or break Fownes' hopes for a second consecutive title, and he has good winning chances across the whole of tomorrow night's card, including in the three Triple Trio legs. In the opening leg, a Class Four over 1,000m, he saddles up Peace Combination (Zac Purton) who is starting to find his way down in the ratings and looks likely to give Fownes a win sometime before the end of the season.

The query, though, is that his Happy Valley form to date is not as good as his form down the straight at Sha Tin, although he had excuses at each of his three city runs so far and is probably best suited returning to the minimum trip.

At his most recent Valley run two back, he struck a yielding track and plenty of interference before finishing 10th, more than 12 lengths behind Happy Surveys over 1,200m, so a line must be ruled through the run.

Still, the jury is out, so instead, rely on the one-paced but honest Call Me Achiever (Brett Prebble) as banker from a good draw - he will be on or near the speed and prove tough to run down, as always.

Also include Highland Dragon, likely to push forward with no weight under 10-pound claimer Jack Wong Ho-nam, and St Yazin (Gerald Mosse) is a must-include back to Class Four and Happy Valley.

It is hard to assess Trendiful (Joao Moreira), who had looked a little weak before winning like Able Friend in Class Five last time out. He drops in weight as he rises in class, having copped a 12-pound penalty, but it remains to be seen whether he can repeat the effort.

Still, throw him into the mix, while another last-start winner Chin Chun (Karis Teetan) can be included if playing wide.

The middle leg is a Class Four over 1,650m, where despite the outside draw, Great Toplight (Purton) looks the best banker for Fownes.

Great Toplight has only missed the placings once from five runs over the mile at both courses, the perfect profile for a Triple Trio banker, and in a race with limited speed Purton should be able to cross to lead or race handy without too mucheffort.

Also take Rising Power (Ben So Tik-hung), who is consistent and gets down in the weights for the first time in over a year with the rise into Class Four, while Sparkling Sword (Wong) also won last time out and looks poised to press forward.

Plain Blue Banner (Teetan) is always around the mark and goes in, while perhaps include Island Flyer (Derek Leung Ka-chun), who gets a hood and a cross-over noseband for the first time.

It is the final leg, a Class Three over 1,200m, which looks the potential spoiler with a number of fringe chances, and it is most likely a case of taking Fownes' Da Vinci (Purton) on trust.

The four-year-old is still rather inconsistent, but he's produced good performances at his two runs over the Happy Valley 1,200m for a fifth and a second.

Crucial here is gate two, which should allow Purton to slot him in behind the speedy Hawthorne (Wong) and get a nice trail. Perhaps go without a banker and instead take Da Vinci with four others - Hawthorne, Caga Force (Andreas Suborics), Eye On You (Moreira) and Supreme Flight (Teetan).