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Inglis Banner emergency gets shot at Group 3 win on Melbourne Cup Day.
Blue Stratum missed his shot at a big payday on Cox Plate Day, but co-trainer Tony Mcevoy is hopeful a Group 3 consolation prize awaits at Flemington on Tuesday.
The Blue Point colt will make his debut in the Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) that kicks off the Melbourne Cup Day card.
Blue Stratum was an emergency for the Inglis Banner at The Valley, where he would have been racing for the $200,000 Pink Bonus as well as the $300,000 winner's cheque, but failed to gain a start.
That spared him a clash with Brazen Beau filly Bold Bastille and the fact McEvoy would have been happy to take her on underlines his belief in Blue Stratum.
"I would have preferred him running there for the bonus, for the big money, and there's an old adage that a good colt will beat a good filly," he said.
"So, I would have been happy to take it on, albeit she certainly was impressive."
A $130,000 Inglis Premier purchase in partnership with First Light Racing and Belmont Bloodstock, Blue Stratum is by the boom Darley first-season sire out of Tawteen, a speedy daughter of Stratum who won a Listed Crockett Stakes (1200m) and was three times placed at Group 3 level.
Blue Stratum has looked good in two jumpouts in Victoria's west, the first a second placing at Donald before a brilliant three-length win against older horses under light riding over 800m at Terang on October 9. The time for that trial was a slick 46.21 seconds.
James Cummings' impressive Bendigo debut winner Admitted, a granddaughter of Forensics, will give Blue Stratum something to catch, but McEvoy considers that Brazen Beau's colt presence an advantage in the straight-track event.
"First look at the straight for a speed horse, and a baby, he could get very lost is the only thing (that worries me)," McEvoy said.
"But the horse of James Cummings showed a lot of speed at Bendigo, so if we could just stalk it and give him a bunny to follow, hopefully he could round it out.
"But he looks a pretty fast, natural two-year-old to me, his trial was very good and the times back that up."
Blue Stratum is one of two Maribyrnong Plate runners for McEvoy and his co-trainer son Calvin, who will also be represented by Exceedance colt Dublin Down, who was runner-up to Admitted at Bendigo.
