Promising three-year-old McGaw missed his scheduled return at Caulfield but connections are confident it won’t derail his spring campaign.

The Emma-Lee and David Browne-trained galloper was scratched from Saturday’s Group 3 Vain Stakes (1100m) after presenting with a slight temperature on the eve of the race.

Instead, the colt will have a searching gallop at Caulfield on Tuesday week before resuming in the Group 3 H D F McNeil Stakes (1200m) on August 30.

“He was just a bit dull on Friday afternoon,” Emma-Lee Browne said.

“It’s unfortunate. It was very minor, and we scoped him after he had a temperature on Friday, and when scoped him there was a tiny bit of mucus.

“We thought if he had run, you get into that mind where you wonder if they have come back well and up to it, but luckily, we found out early.

“It was pretty minor, but we didn’t want to flatten him first-up when he wasn’t 100 per cent, so we’ll take him to Caulfield on the Tuesday before the next meeting.

“A trip away is almost like a jump-out for him as he works himself pretty hard, so we’ll just have to wait a little longer now to see him back.”

Stablemate Basilinna is also due to resume on the same card in a 2000m handicap. The mare already holds a ballot exemption for the Melbourne Cup (3200m) after winning the Listed Andrew Ramsden (2800m) in March.

Browne said the spring plan has been designed with Cup day as the target.

“She does prefer to get out over a bit of ground straight away, that seems to keep her happy,” Browne said.

“We’ve programmed in for the Cup to be fifth up, because that seems to be when she has gone very, very well.

“It’s a nice position to be in, but its slightly nerve-racking also.”

The stable also has Scary and Statuario, both Caulfield Cup entries, slated to resume in the So You Think Stakes (1500m) at Moonee Valley on September 6.