Trained by Barry Baldwin, pictured with jockey Shane Scriven, Mr Light Blue is a late nomination for the Queensland Derby

Mr Light Blue has done enough to convince his connections that he’s a genuine Derby contender and they have paid a late nomination fee to get him into the race.

The decision was made after last week’s performance in the Grand Prix Stakes where he had arguably the toughest run in the race but still battled on to run second by a head.

Trained out of Eagle Farm by Barry Baldwin Mr Light Blue wasn’t considered for nominations early on because of a poor start to his campaign.

He placed in his second run but in the days leading up to the nominations cut off period he finished a long way behind an average field.

From his very next event though he started to show signs of improvement and before the Grand Prix Stakes he scored a big win at Ipswich over 2150m.

In last weekend’s Group 3 he started from a wide gate and was caught three wide around the first bend.

Eventually he was hard ridden to the lead and despite all that effort he made a real fight of it down the home straight.

Baldwin says at the time nominations closed there was no way they thought he’d be a chance.

“I didn’t nominate him for the Derby,” Baldwin said.

“He was beaten eight lengths on the Sunshine Coast on the cushion track over 1400m a few days before nominations shut.

“The owners have decided to pay the late nomination fee today which is about $17,000. He won $30,000 last Saturday and you spend a lot of money trying to buy Derby horses.

“He’s a genuine contender and we decided to pay the money.”

Online betting markets show Mr Light Blue as a $26 early chance before the final field is announced next week.