Metro Double for Stratum

Golden Slipper winner Stratum is having a bumper season with over 70 winners including seven individual stakes-winners and featured on Wednesday with smart winners at Randwick and Doomben.

The Gary Portelli trained Straturbo led throughout and fought on in dogged fashion to take the Benchmark 70 event over 1100 metres by half a head.

The four year-old has now won three of his past four starts and has the overall record of four wins from 17 starts with prizemoney topping $120,000.

Straturbo was a $45,000 purchase from Widden Stud draft for Elite Thoroughbreds at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale in 2011 and is a full brother to Group III ATC Skyline Stakes winner I’m All The Talk, who was also bought and raced by Elite Thoroughbreds.

Making it a double for Stratum was another four year-old gelding in Bush Aviator, who strode away to win by four lengths at Doomben over 1615 metres.

A stakes-winner at two when trained in Victoria by Danny O’Brien, Bush Aviator is now with Tony Gollan and seems to be back to his best.

A $140,000 Magic Millions purchase from the Widden Stud, Bush Aviator is from former smart Geiger Counter (USA) mare Sister Patricia, a Group III winner and second in the Group I WATC Railway Stakes.