Caspar Fownes extended his championship lead with a double at Happy Valley on Wednesday night, Douglas Whyte ended his long drought and Luke Ferraris and Zac Purton dominated the card with trebles.

Fownes bagged the opening two races on the card, extending his championship lead to 39 over nearest rivals Mark Newnham and David Hayes on 36.

Hugh Bowman maintained his unblemished record on the Fownes-trained Super Sicario to take out the Class Five Kwoon Chung Motors Handicap (1,800m) before Luke Ferraris’ super steer helped Fownes clinch a brace with Verbier claiming the Class Five Intercontinental Limousine Handicap (1,200m).

Fownes credited Bowman’s ride on the hot-headed Super Sicario, who settled just behind the leaders before hitting the front 150m out and keeping on strongly to win by a length.

“Hugh handled him well – he started off a bit untractable but once the race started to progress he was good. Once he passed the second bend, I was very confident,” said Fownes.

“He just needs to learn to chill out – we gave him a nice break away and prepared him well for this. He’s more than capable of getting into and being competitive in Class Four races, as long as he starts to respect the bit, respect the jockey, and says ‘all right, let’s take a chill pill’.”

Brown-lamped from $17 to $6.3, Verbier ran to punters’ expectations with a drop in trip and return to Happy Valley the winning formula.

Ferraris later capped a treble with a feature triumph on Symbol Of Strength in the Class Three Kwoon Chung Bus Cup (1,200m) for Frankie Lor Fu-chuen and a win on Derby entrant Fivefortwo in the Class Three Sichuan Bipenggou Tourist Attractions Handicap (1,650m).

The striking Gameplayer Elite ended Whyte’s frustrating run of outs when Harry Bentley booted him home in the first section of the Class Four KC Smart Mobility Handicap (1,200m).

“He’s been running consistently in his last two starts. He’s been a victim of circumstance due to draws and pace – it’s been a bit of a frustrating run of things with him,” said Whyte.

“Tonight, the draw and the tempo played into his hands and he ran a nice race. He let down really well and he’s getting on in age, but in general he’s a healthy horse and tried his best; a good run in transit told in the end.

“Hopefully that gives him some confidence – when a horse hasn’t won for a while and wins like that, hopefully they come back and do it again next time.”

Giant Ballon showed what he was capable of with a fantastic front-running performance in the second section of the Class Four Kwoon Chung Macau Limousine Rental Services Handicap (1,200m) to help Whyte clinch a brace.

A return to Happy Valley and the reapplication of blinkers saw him salute inside standard time under Purton.

“I don’t think it was generally a change of tactics, I think the horse jumped positive and they left him alone in front and he enjoyed it. I think a bit of give in the ground certainly helped his causes,” Whyte said.

Whyte had not recorded a victory from the 90 runners that he had saddled since a double on New Year’s Day.

“I can’t say I’m frustrated, because the horses are running well without winning. Draws and circumstances have taken their toll, but when the horses run consistently well and you’ve had 22 seconds [this season] and even more places, you have to take into perspective that there’s sometimes things you have to eliminate and take into consideration,” said Whyte.

“I’ve been here for a long time, so I know how to deal with the pressure and I’ll just keep going.”

Purton ended the night with a treble from five rides, collecting victories on Ace War for Mark Newnham in the Class Four Trans-Island Chinalink Handicap (2,200m) and California Moxie for Tony Cruz in the Class Four Kwoon Chung Inclusive & Accessible Service Handicap (1,650m).