Blacker eyes trainers' premiership after clocking up four more winners

John Keys had a double to take back the lead while Glenn Stevenson shares second spot. Blacker has the biggest number of horses in work and with seven meetings left in the season, weight of numbers may win out.

Blacker ended the day like it started with Zewinna ($8.50), ridden by Chelsea Baker, taking out the last of the 10 races, a BM60 (1600m).

Earlier he had teamed with stable apprentice Jackson Radley for three winners, including exciting filly Press For Boom ($3), who returned with a dashing win in Class 1 company.

Press For Boom has raced only twice for two wins but Blacker believes she may measure up to feature races like the Mystic Journey and Vamos Stakes both at Group 3 level.

Blacker has mapped out some long-range plans for Alpine Affair ($10 - $3.70) who landed some good bets winning the BM76 (1600m) downing greybeard Sir Simon by a short head.

The trainer has picked out the Longford and Devonport Cups as targets for the five-year-old who has won eight races from 43 starts.

Alpine Affair was up in class but down in weight and Blacker said that told the story.

"We claimed 2kg (and carried) 52kg. Small field, super fit, we thought he had a chance of winning and he was backed accordingly," he said.

"He's no world-beater but when he gets the right run to suit and down in the weights, he is very hard to beat.

"I still believe he is a Longford Cup horse and hopefully get a result there and back up into the Devonport Cup."

Champion jockey David Pires was back with a bang returning to race riding after a three-month enforced lay-off with broken ribs due to a trackwork fall.

Pires took just one ride for the meeting, but showed he has lost nothing while sidelined giving Furneaux ($2.60) the run-of-the-race just behind the speed before lifting the four-year-old over the line in a dour struggle with Shooting North ($5.50).

"I'm absolutely knackered," Pires said with a smile.

"Of course, he had to make me work in my first ride back, he was really good, he never laid down and in the last 100m he really dug deep, and it was good to see him get a win.

"I'll take just a couple of rides for the next few weeks just to get some weight off and get a bit more fitness back into me before I start taking a full book of rides."