Latest betting markets from www.betstar.com.au

VICTORIA DERBY

Shamoline Warrior 3.00
Rockferry 4.60
Monaco Consul 6.00
Viking Legend 11.00
Onemorenomore 12.00
Our Heir Apparent 12.00
Extra Zero 13.00
Spacecraft 13.00
Southern Skye 14.00
Gathering 15.00
Tamland 51.00
Commonage Close 71.00
Lethal Arrow 101.00
Mahsam 101.00
Morossa 151.00
Prinsom 151.00
Alpha Tango Sierra 201.00
Unbendable 201.00

Glen Boss may be on Changingoftheguard in the Melbourne Cup but his heart seems to be with Alcopop. The South Aussie fairytale horse is co-fav for the big race with Efficient and Viewed and Bossy, fresh from his Cox Plate triumph, says: 'If I had to have a choice for my mount in the Cup, it would be Alcopop...he's a very impressive horse, he has a good action about him, a good turn of foot. We all saw it in the Herbert Power.'

As for So You Think...The ever-enthusiastic Glen Boss reckons he can win the Mackinnon Stks on Sat. GB says: 'He should win again...It could have been grand final day for him last weekend but Bart wouldn't be running him if the horse hadn't done good in the stable. He is too valuable.' Alas, Bossy will miss the ride because of suspension. Craig Williams takes over and he's in cracking form since being dumped by David Hayes. CW rode a double at Sha Tin in Hong Kong on Sunday.

Trainer Herman Brown has given up on getting Bankable fit for Sat's $750,000 LKS Mackinnon Stakes 2000m but still hopes to run him in another race over the carnival. Brown says Bankable, has a hoof problem and is undergoing x-rays to pinpoint the cause. He adds: 'We will concentrate on trying to get him right for the Emirates Stakes on Saturday week.'

Latest report from TAB Sportsbet on the Melbourne Cup:

Today's Big Bets

$13,500 Roman Emperor @ $11

$12,000 e/w Changingoftheguard @ $31 / $8.50.

Melbourne Cup

Alcopop $6.50

Efficient $6.50

Viewed $6.50

Roman Emperor $11

Zipping $13

Daffodil $15

Speed Gifted $15

Master O Reilly $17

Cest La Guerre $21

Leica Ding $21

Big movers have been Zipping in from $26 and Leica Ding in from $201 after winning the Geelong Cup.

Speed Gifted is out from $7 after finishing well back in the Cox Plate.

Can Cima de Triomphe improve enough to win the Melbourne Cup after failing (13th) in the Caulfield Cup? Well, Damien Oliver seems confident the UK raider will show improvement with the addition of blinkers. Oliver rode the Luca Cumani trained stayer in a 1400m workout on Monday and says he was impressed with the improvement the additional gear had drawn from CDT.

After 3rd Decs, the horses left in the Melbourne Cup are:

EMIRATES MELBOURNE CUP
No Claims. Group 1.
3200 Metres $5,650,000
1 Alcopop (Jake Stephens)
2 Allez Wonder (Bart Cummings)
3 Basaltico (IRE) (Luca Cumani)
4 Britomart (Rick Hore-Lacy)
5 C'est La Guerre (NZ) (John Sadler)
6 Cape Breton (NZ) (Danny Williams)
7 Capecover (NZ) (Alexander R Fieldes)
8 Cats Fun (Jarrod McLean)
9 Changingoftheguard (IRE) (David Hayes)
10 Cima de Triomphe (IRE) (Luca Cumani)
11 Crime Scene (IRE) (Saeed Bin Suroor)
12 Daffodil (NZ) (Kevin Gray)
13 Dandaad (NZ) (Bart Cummings)
14 Efficient (NZ) (John Sadler)
15 Fiumicino (NZ) ( Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes)
16 Gallions Reach (NZ) (Richard Yuill)
17 Harris Tweed (NZ) ( Murray & Bjorn Baker)
18 Hissing Sid ( Bill & Symon Wilde)
19 Hoorang (NZ) (Ian Shaw)
20 Hume (NZ) (Brian Smith)
21 Ista Kareem (NZ) (Colin Little)
22 Kibbutz (NZ) (Jarrod McLean)
23 Kirklees (IRE) (Saeed Bin Suroor)
24 Leica Ding (Darren Weir)
25 Master O'Reilly (NZ) (Danny O'Brien)
26 Mourilyan (IRE) (Herman Brown)
27 Munsef (GB) (Ian Williams)
28 Naval Escort (NZ) (Bart Cummings)
29 Newport (Paul Perry)
30 Nothin' Leica Cat (NZ) (Anthony Cummings)
31 Oak Heart (Darren Weir)
32 Roman Emperor (NZ) (Bart Cummings)
33 Shocking (Mark Kavanagh)
34 Six O'clock News (NZ) ( Patrick & Trent Busuttin)
35 Speed Gifted (GB) (Lee Freedman)
36 Spin Around (Steven Cooper)
37 Think Money (Bart Cummings)
38 Viewed (Bart Cummings)
39 Vigor (NZ) (Danny O'Brien)
40 Warringah (GB) (Chris Waller)
41 Zavite (NZ) (Anthony Cummings)
42 Zipping (John Sadler)

Frankie Dettori will be aboard the Godolphin stayer Kirklees in the Melbourne Cup. Kerrin McEvoy will be aboard the stable's second runner Crime Scene. Damien Oliver is confirmed for the Chris Waller-trained import Warringah but he'll be a half kilo over at 53kgs. Danny Nikolic is booked for the Luca Cumani-trained Basaltico. The horse has only 51.5kgs but DN is confident he can get down to the weight.

David Hayes will wait until Wednesday before deciding if recent stable acquisition Changingoftheguard will run in the Melbourne Cup.

There's still some doubt about Hanks running in the Victoria Derby on Saturday. Trainer Peter Moody says the impressive Hanks came through his win in Saturday's AAMI Vase at Moonee Valley in OK shape. He reckons he's a good chance of running in the 3YO 2500m Grp 1 classic at Flemington but warns he hasn't yet made a final decision. He's watching Hanks closely and he may wait until Saturday morning before a 'yes' or 'no'. PM says: 'With such a lightly raced horse I want to be satisfied that he's at peak health to attempt the race that can be a tough exercise for an underdone three-year-old.''

Sydney colt Onemorenomore is a certain starter in the Derby with Damien Oliver replacing Glen Boss, who is suspended for careless riding on Saturday for 10 meetings. David Hayes says Extra Zero is a definite Derby runner. He ran 5th in the AAMI Vase but was caught deep.

Latest Vic Derby betting market:

SHAMOLINE WARRIOR 3.20 1.55
ROCKFERRY 6.00 2.25
HANKS 8.00 2.75
MONACO CONSUL 8.00 2.75
SOUTHERN SKYE 11.00 3.50
VIKING LEGEND 11.00 3.50
EXTRA ZERO 13.00 4.00
ONEMORENOMORE 13.00 4.00
OUR HEIR APPARENT 13.00 4.00
SPACECRAFT 13.00 4.00
BRIDGESTONE 15.00 4.50

Cox Plate winner So You Think will be back in action next Saturday. He'll run in the 2000m Grp 1 wfa LKS Mackinnon Stakes and Craig Williams is booked for the ride in the absence of the suspended Glen Boss. Williams will be fifth jockey to ride So You Think in his short career. Crystal Mile winner Rangirangdoo is also a likely starter in the Mackinnon.

An ankle injury could torpedo jockey Dom Tourneur's Melbourne Cup dream ride on Alcopop. DT fell from Red Ranger in the fifth race at Mt Gambier on Sunday. he badly twisted his ankle and had to give up his remaining rides. First reports say he will not be able to ride until Cup day but there's still a chance the injury may not have healed 100% by then, forcing a change of rider.

A flop in the Cox Plate has badly dented the Melbourne Cup hopes of Lee Freedman's much hyped and heavily backed import Speed Gifted. The European stayer couldn't handle the firm track at Moonee Valley and beat home only two runners. Now he needs lots of rain to have any chance at Flemington on Tues week. Freedman says: 'We would want the great flood...We'll see how he is but the ground is a big issue. My gut feeling is that he won't run.'

Chris Waller is already preparing a speech for next year's Cox Plate presentation. He reckons Rangirangdoo is the horse who can win the wfa classic. Rangi smashed the 1600m track record in Sat's Crystal Mile at the Valley and Waller says: 'It's a surprise to hear that time, but that's the type of horse he is...We are better off to win this race than run fifth or sixth in the Cox Plate, but he will be here this time next year, don't worry about that.'

Troubled import Changingoftheguard, who'd been battling an abscess, is OK again and all set for a crack at the Melbourne Cup. Constant poulticing and long walking exercises helped bust the abscess. A strong gallop at Sandown has paved the way for the 4YO wildcard to tackle Tuesday week's Cup. Trainer David Hayes says: 'He had a decent gallop this morning and it must have done the job...Originally we thought it had dissipated because he was much better yesterday and better again this morning. That's the nature of foot injuries.'

One minute you're up and the next you're down...Stewards threw cold water on Glen Boss's Cox Plate glory when they suspended him for 10 meetings for careless riding on the winner So You Think. Boss admitted allowing So You Think to shift in passing the winning post the first time when not fully clear of Heart of Dreams, resulting in that horse having to be checked and Zipping being tightened for room.

Speed Gifted's Melbourne Cup run is in doubt. The AJC Metrop winner jarred up in the Cox Plate. A vet's examination showed the gelding to have signs of soreness in the back. Beaten Cox Plate fav Whobegotyou was also sore in the back on pulling up and will now go for a spell.

Latest Melbourne Cup market (Betstar):

Efficient 5.50
Alcopop 6.50
Viewed 6.50
Roman Emperor 11.00
Master O'Reilly 15.00
Zipping 15.00
Daffodil (NZ) 17.00
Speed Gifted 17.00
Mourilyan (GB) 21.00
Shocking 21.00
Vigor 21.00
C'est La Guerre 26.00
Kirklees (UAE) 26.00
Leica Ding 26.00
Allez Wonder 34.00
Warringah (GB) 34.00
Changingoftheguard 41.00
Precedence 41.00

Caulfield Guineas winner Starspangledbanner has returned a confirmed positive test to a banned substance in a sample taken from him in August. Racing Victoria stewards say a pre race urine sample taken from Starspangledbanner at Caulfield on August 1 is involved. An analyst's report says the sample contained Altrenogest, a reproductive hormone to stop females coming into season. Altrenogest is a prohibited substance in males and geldings.

Is support building for the WA contender Scenic Shot in the Cox Plate? TAB Sportsbet's Glenn Munsie told PPD: 'We can report significant interest this afternoon...Bets taken today include $10,000 @ $17 and $3,000 @ $16 which takes the total to $25,000 invested on the horse since Wednesday. In that time he has firmed from $18 into his current price of $16.'

Latest Cox Plate market:

Whobegotyou $2.90, Heart of Dreams $6.00, Speed Gifted $11.00, So You Think $13.00, El Segundo $14.00, Zipping $15.00, Scenic Shot and Rock Kingdom $17.00, Vision & Power and Black Piranha $18.00, Manhattan Rain $21.00, Road To Rock $26.00, Nom du Jeu $61.00, Sir Slick $151.00.

TODAY'S COX PLATE BIG BETS (TAB Sportsbet)

Whobegotyou

$9,000 @ $3.00
$8,000 @ $3.00
$5,000 @ $3.00 (twice)

$9,000 @ $18 Whobegotyou/Efficient Cox Plate/M Cup double
$8,700 @ $4.65 Whobegotyou/Avenue double

Scenic Shot

$10,000 @ $17.00

Rock Kingdom

$2,000 x $1000 @ $17/$4.60

Zipping

$2,000 @ $16.00
$1,000 @ $17.00

Speed Gifted

$1,000 e/w @ $11.00
$1,000 @ $11.00

El Segundo

$1,000 @ $14.00

Former European Changingoftheguard, bought by trainer David Hayes as a Melbourne Cup prospect, was lame at Sandown yesterday morning, putting his Melbourne Cup bid in doubt. Changingoftheguard has an abscess on its near-side hind leg. DH says: 'It's about to burst, and it's made him extremely lame...If he stays like this, he won't run in the Cup because he's missed too much work. But we've still got three or four days to get him right.'

The Darren Weir-trained Leica Ding has been penalised a half-kilo (0.5kg) for the $5.65m Melbourne Cup after her narrow win in the Grp 3 2400m Geelong Cup. She now has 50.5kgs and is raised from 67th to 31st on the order of entry. Handicapper Greg Carpenter says: 'The Geelong Cup was a genuinely-run race on quick ground and Leica Ding gave a strong staying performance to beat a very competitive field.'

Glyn Schofield says he's impressed with his Melbourne Cup mount Mourilyan. GS was aboard when Mourilyan worked nicely at Sandown on Thursday morning. The Herman Brown-trained gelding worked with stablemate Bankable over 1600m. The Sth African jockey says: 'It was a good hit out, he impressed me...He's a stayer with a bit of speed, he's travelled well, he looks well, he just has to race well now.' Bankable set the tempo before Mourilyan moved up inside the final 400m. The pair crossed the line together. Bankable's target is the LKS Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington on Saturday week. In latest betting for the Melbourne Cup, Mourilyan is at 25/1.

Latest betting on the Cox Plate from IASbet.com:

Whobegotyou (10) Damien Oliver 2.70
Heart of Dreams (3) Craig Newitt 7.00
Speed Gifted (12) Dwayne Dunn 10.00
So You Think (7) Glen Boss 11.00
Scenic Shot (6) Shane Scriven 15.00
Vision and Power (4) Hugh Bowman 15.00
El Segundo (13) Luke Nolen 16.00
Rock Kingdom (9) Nash Rawiller 16.00

Punting angle: If you think one of the first four horses in the betting can win the Cox Plate you can easily employ a staking plan to make a guaranteed 43% profit: At current prices (above) back Whobegotyou for 37 units, Heart of Dreams for 14.5 units, Speed Gifted for 10 units and So You Think for 9 units. Total bet is 70 units. Whichever one wins, you are guaranteed a profit of around 30 units.

Godolphin is likely to have two runners in the Melbourne Cup...Kirklees and Crime Scene, who ran 6th in Wed's Geelong Cup 2400m. Godolphin rep Diana Cooper says Crime Scene had shown he was in good form and deserves a shot at the Melbourne Cup. She says: 'He didn't disappoint us, and he's run a really good race...He had every chance but will improve on that. If everything goes well in the next week or so, we'll have two runners in the Melbourne Cup.'

Luca Cumani's spring is not so good. The stable's big hope Basaltico was a moderate 7th in the Geelong Cup. Sara Cumani says: 'He just got too far back but he finished well and has done us proud.' Basaltico is expected to have another run in Australia, with the Melbourne Cup the ideal race if he's able to sneak into the field. Basaltico will be entered in the Lexus Quality or the Lavazza Plate on Cup day if he misses aCup start.

TAB Sportsbet has slashed the Melbourne Cup odds of Leica Ding from $201 to $31 following the 5YO mare's win in the Geelong Cup. It's likely she will receive a Cup penalty of a half kilo. Dandaad (2nd) also firmed from $51 into $41 after being as much as $81 this morning while Sterling Prince (3rd) was $201 to $101. UK raiders Crime Scene and Basaltico are both out to $81 after disappointing performances.

You can depend on Gai...Chirpy, optimistic, irrepressible, indefatigable Gai Waterhouse reckons her 2 runners in the Cox Plate are top prospects and says she can't split Rock Kingdom and Manhattan Rain. 'Gai gushes: 'I think they both have wonderful chances...Both horses will probably go forward and put themselves right in the race. They are both very fit and ready to perform on the Cox Plate stage. I can't wait.' Nash Rawiller rides Rock Kingdom, who is an $18 chance overnight while Craig Williams has wasted down to the 49.5 kilograms for Manhattan Rain, who is ranked a $16 chance on TAB Sportsbet.

Despite the flops of the 2 UK horses in the Caulfield Cup, bookies have another 2 international raiders dominating the betting for Wed's Geelong Cup 2400m at Geelong. Basaltico, from the Luca Cumani team, is fav at $6.50 (11/2) and Crime Scene, from the Godolphin stable, is at $8.50 (15/2). The TAB Sportsbet market at 4pm:

2 BASALTICO (13) D OLIVER 6.50
1 CRIME SCENE (3) K MCEVOY 8.50
15 LEICA DING (20) D NIKOLIC 9.00
4 GUYNO (6) J S WHITING 9.00
18 DANDAAD (1) C LINDOP 9.50
9 STERLING PRINCE (10) H BOWMAN 10.00
7 STORMHILL (8) B RAWILLER 11.00
10 HOORANG (9) MICHELLE PAYNE 12.00
6 YOUNG CENTAUR (7) C WILLIAMS 12.00
11 ARAPAHO MISS (16) DEAN HOLLAND 14.00
12 SIX O'CLOCK NEWS (18) N G HARRIS 15.00
17 ZACROONA (4) D DUNN 16.00
19 THINK MONEY (12) NN 17.00
14 COMPLETION (2) D MOOR 21.00
16 MAESTRO OF MURANO (21)A PATTERSON 26.00
5 SPIN AROUND (14) M R DU PLESSIS 35.00
20 GOLDEN CHARMER (5) D YENDALL 51.00
3 GALLIONS REACH (19) G BOSS 51.00
8 CATS FUN (15) L NOLEN 51.00
21 DOUBLY SURE (17) NN 101.00
13 THE SPORTSMAN (11) B EVANS scr scr

Best supported today

Dandaad 11- 9.50
Basaltico
Guyno
Crime Scene
Leica Ding

Latest betting market on the Cox Plate, from Betstar, has Whobegotyou on top at $2.60, well clear of Heart of Dreams $7.00.

COX PLATE

10. Whobegotyou 2.60
11. Heart Of Dreams 7.00
09. Speed Gifted 9.00
03. Vision And Power 13.00
14. So You Think 13.00
01. El Segundo 15.00
02. Zipping 16.00
13. Manhattan Rain 16.00
05. Scenic Shot 17.00
06. Black Piranha 17.00
12. Rock Kingdom 21.00
08. Road To Rock 34.00
04. Nom Du Jeu (NZ) 41.00
07. Sir Slick 151.00

Well-backed Whobegotyou has drawn Gate #10 for Sat's Cox Plate but he remains a firm favorite at $2.40 on the TAB Sportsbet market issued shortly after the barrier draw. Second fav Heart of Dreams $7.00 is drawn well in gate #3. Speed Gifted $9.00 is in #12. Gai Waterhouse's late entry runner Rock Kingdom is out at $26. He drew #9. Veteran El Segundo is in gate #13 and is now at $14.00. Top 3YO So You Think gets a run and has gate #7. He's at $14.00.

$3 million Group 1 Tatts Cox Plate (2040)

1 EL SEGUNDO (NZ) Colin Little Luke Nolen 13
2 ZIPPING John Sadler Steven Arnold 2
3 VISION AND POWER (NZ) Joseph Pride Hugh Bowman 4
4 NOM DU JEU (NZ) Murray & Bjorn Baker Michael Rodd 5
5 SCENIC SHOT Daniel Morton Shane Scriven 6
6 BLACK PIRANHA Con Karakatsanis Tye Angland 8
7 SIR SLICK (NZ) Graeme Nicholson Michelle Payne 11
8 ROAD TO ROCK Anthony Cummings Glyn Schofield 1
9 SPEED GIFTED (GB) Lee Freedman 12
10 WHOBEGOTYOU Mark Kavanagh Damien Oliver 10
11 HEART OF DREAMS Mick Price Craig Newitt 3
12 ROCK KINGDOM Gai Waterhouse Nash Rawiller 9
13 MANHATTAN RAIN Gai Waterhouse Craig Williams 14
14 SO YOU THINK (NZ) Bart Cummings Glen Boss 7

Corey Brown was due to test Chris Waller's unknown British import Warringah in a track gallop at Sandown on Tues morning. A start in the Melbourne Cup seems to be increasingly likely for the stayer who was formerly with Sir Michael Stoute in the UK. Waller is in Melbourne to prep his team for the spring carnival. The team includes Manikato Stakes winner Danleigh and Cox Plate prospect Rangirangdoo. CW has had a look at Warringah and says he is thriving.