That luckless run in Caulfield Cup has seen Shocking the big firmer in Betstar's market for the Melbourne Cup. 'It was as good a Melbourne Cup trial as you will see,' says Betstar's Alan Eskander. 'With any luck in running, he just about gets the money and we all know he grows a leg at Flemington.' As a result of the run, Betstar slashed Shocking's Melbourne Cup price from $7 to $5.50 with So You Think holding on to favoritism at $4.80 (out from $4.60). The other obvious firmer was the Caulfield

That luckless run in Caulfield Cup has seen Shocking the big firmer in Betstar's market for the Melbourne Cup. 'It was as good a Melbourne Cup trial as you will see,' says Betstar's Alan Eskander. 'With any luck in running, he just about gets the money and we all know he grows a leg at Flemington.' As a result of the run, Betstar slashed Shocking's Melbourne Cup price from $7 to $5.50 with So You Think holding on to favoritism at $4.80 (out from $4.60). The other obvious firmer was the Caulfield Cup winner Descarado. Eskander says: 'It was a gutsy win as he didn't have a lot of luck early. By the way he fought on, you'd think he'd have no trouble running out a strong 3200 metres and we've trimmed him up from $51 to $13 for Flemington.'

Caulfield Cup placegetters Harris Tweed and Monaco Consul have firmed sharply for the Melbourne Cup while Alcopop, last year's beaten favorite has blown from $13 to $21 after finishing 11th. Alan Eskander told PPD: 'He didn't have a lot of luck from his barrier but you would still have liked to see him finish it off better than that. He'll need to improve a hundred yards to be competitive at Flemington.'