On any other day, Dandino would have won by two lengths but Williams’ indecision when Jet Away took off eventually cost him the race. Williams’ claim that he was beaten by the barrier draw really doesn’t stack up consdering Dunaden won from gate 22 the previous year. It was simply a rare bad day at Caulfield for Craig.

The Marco Botti trained charge now heads to Flemington as the $9.00 second favourite alongside Fiorente and that looks a good price to us. Indeed, Dandino’s misfortune at Caulfield could well be the springboard for a glorious Melbourne Cup run with that precious first experience under the belt for horse and jockey.

Fawkner, the winner of the 2013 Caulfield Cup, also looks likely to head to Flemington as Lloyd Williams seeks another famous first Tuesday of November.

For all your Melbourne Cup odds 2013, just follow the link!

“Everything was stacked against him at weights and measures … he’s done a very good job” said Nick Williams after the race.

And with that run went all the fancy prices for the Melbourne Cup, and Llyod William’s former Engliash galloper is now down to $21.00 for the first Tuesday in November. And we still think that’s a fair price. You certainly wouldn’t want to be taking single figure odds about too many horses this far out, that’s for sure.

Mount Athos and Dandino are yet to be sighted this Spring, and alongside Verema and Voleuse De Coeurs, they make up a quartet of talking horses who are being steadily crunched at the odds on the basis of strong racecourse gallops.

We’d rather go with what we see in races rather than what we hear on the grapevine, that’s why there are far worse bets to be had at this stage than a speculative each way punt on a tough horse like Sea Moon.

Puissance De Lune sustained the bone chips injury whilst dead heating with Budriguez in the Group II Blarney Stakes at Flemington but recovery process has gone without a hitch.

2012 Melbourne Cup challengers feature heavily in the Cup odds betting early on, with Fiorente at $11.00 and Mount Athos at $13.00. It’s A Dundeel comes next at $15.00 and then it’s $21.00 the field.

Reigning Melbourne Cup champion Green Moon is a $26.00 for a repeat success, but most interesting of the others is Jakkalberry at $41.00. Placed in the race last year at huge odds and still improving he might be worth a speculative interest at big odds.

The 2009 Melbourne Cup, for all the pre-race claims of a relatively weak field, stirred the hearts of even the most hardened punters as Bart Cummings’ bid for a lucky 13th Cup was shot down in flames.

For about 50 metres it looked like British-based Crime Scene would steal the show. A pom. A tea-slurper. A limey. One of my very own.

I knew better though – over the course of the season I’ve been patchy at best when it comes to picking the winners but I’m frankly proud of my record when it comes to the placings.

For Crime Scene to win, the natural order would have had to be broken. My placings shouts are always coming second – when I tipped Crime Scene for a top three finish on Monday at 12.50 a friend of mine in Sydney chuckled and announced his money was on Alcopop. Clearly he doesn’t read this blog.

Manhattan Rain in the Cox Plate and Roman Emperor in the Caulfield Cup have so far showed there is method to my placings madness, which was why I was the least surprised of all when Crime Scene came storming through, got caught by Shocking, and settled into second. It was written in the wind. To complete the usual form, my winner tips of Viewed and Roman Emperor were nowhere to be seen.

There isn’t much which can knock me off my flawed high horse now, but no doubt the Crown Oaks and Emirates Stakes will do their best.

Betting for Thursday’s Crown Oaks at Flemington is being dominated by Bart Cummings again. His filly Faint Perfume is the favourite on the slightly ludicrous price of 1.65 with many bookmakers. Some may feel the big man’s luck is out after his trio of horses failed to win the cup on Tuesday, but everything here suggests only a massive shock can stand in the way of Faint Perfume. Value will be the problem and a clutch of horses sub-16.00 means even placings prices are not the best for those in with a shout.

Looking ahead to the finale of the Emirates Stakes on Saturday, and Bart is there again with Cox Plate winner So You Think likely to feature – most online horse racing markets aren’t open yet so I’ll come back to this on Friday.

Until then, enjoy the Crown Oaks and spend those Melbourne Cup winnings wisely. If you came away with a loss, don’t worry, the carnival is nearly over.

Firstly, the media build-up and the betting are being dominated by Bart Cummings – he who has trained 12 Melbourne Cup winners and dominated group 1 events this season.

Secondly, we have the emergence of five or six horses from the rest of the field. It’s a clear gap, with half a dozen runners all over the tipping columns and a distinct lack of talk about the other 18 runners in the field.

Pull up a chair, allow me to re-fill my pipe and I’ll try to take us through both of these issues before we hopefully come out with a good overview of what will happen at Flemington on Tuesday.

Firstly, dear Bart has three runners in the field and is coming in off the back of a spring where he has trained winners left, right and centre. As of Monday evening his three chances, Viewed, Allez Wonder and Roman Emperor, were the 4.80 favourite, a 31.00 shot and 8.50 third favourite respectively with Sportsbet.

Such is the anxiety over the presence of Cummings’ trio of chances that Sportsbet has developed the ‘Second Cummings’ offer – whereby if a Bart Cummings horse wins and your horse comes second you get your money back – with a $100 maximum refund.

While Allez Wonder will have to up her game considerably to pull out a win, Viewed and Roman Emperor are both genuinely likely to be there or thereabouts. As such a modest insurance wager for Viewed might be a good idea as value is likely to be poor at this stage – while Roman Emperor is looking good for something heavier at 9.60 with Betfair.

So is all the talk about Bart a little over the top? Not when you consider Viewed has already won the Caulfield Cup this year. And the Melbourne Cup last year. However, Bart’s last win in the Cup was 10 years ago in 1999 with Rogan Josh.

Still, even if you fancy Alcopop at 6.00 with Betfair, or Shocking on 11.00, do you feel comfortable not backing Bart? I don’t and will be insuring accordingly.

Outside of aforementioned Roman Emperor, Viewed, Alcopop, Shocking and Daffodil at 16.00, the field, in my view, is of limited quality. However, there are some very interesting placings bets of decent value. Jockey Glen Boss has won this race three times in a row from 2003 to 2005 on Makybe Diva and is piloting Changing of the Guard at 7.40 for the placings with Betfair. Elsewhere there’s 12.50 for promising Godolphin horse Crime Scene. And if you’ve not quite had enough of Bart, Allez Wonder is 9.80 to make the placings.

It all comes down to this. A simple battle with Bart. Turf’s up.

Personally, I’d rather be studying the form of the horses than looking at who’s wearing what, so I was interested to hear that Moonee Valley Vase winner Hanks and Western Australian Bridgestone are both out of the race. This throws open the field for a number of ‘outsiders’ to be in with a chance of the prize money, none more so than Prinsom whose trainer Michael Templeton expects to see provide a ‘competitive performance’. Templeton is confident that with an uninterrupted run, Prinsom can work his way to the front of the field.

Favourites for the $1.5m race are the Norman Robinson Stakes winner Shamoline Warrior, plus Rockferry and Monaco Consul. IASbet places them at 2.80, 5.00 and 6.00 respectively, but I’ve got my eye on the spirited Onemorenomore and Gathering who have been given odds of 13.00 and 17.00. A bit of a bold shout I know, but I can sense an upset on this one.

Trainer John Thompson is concerned whether they will settle to run out the 2500m, but I’m confident that the two quality colts will perform well on Saturday. There’s also been a fair bit of discussion around Monaco Consul’s four week race gap, but his odds appear not to reflect this and trainer Mike Moroney is confident Consul is the right horse for the race.

I’m hopeful I will be successful this year, but whatever the outcome, the Victoria Derby is a fine race, steeped in tradition, dating back to 1855. It’ll be a grand day – I just hope the morning suit does me justice and my faith in Onemorenomore and Gathering pays off.

Fear not. I’ve not forgotten the Melbourne Cup. I’ll be providing a full breakdown on Friday, with the chief concern at the moment the potential of no less than six Bart Cummings runners in the big one. Watch this space.

Personally, I’d rather be studying the form of the horses than looking at who’s wearing what, so I was interested to hear that Moonee Valley Vase winner Hanks and Western Australian Bridgestone are both out of the race. This throws open the field for a number of ‘outsiders’ to be in with a chance of the prize money, none more so than Prinsom whose trainer Michael Templeton expects to see provide a ‘competitive performance’. Templeton is confident that with an uninterrupted run, Prinsom can work his way to the front of the field.

Favourites for the $1.5m race are the Norman Robinson Stakes winner Shamoline Warrior, plus Rockferry and Monaco Consul. IASbet places them at 2.80, 5.00 and 6.00 respectively, but I’ve got my eye on the spirited Onemorenomore and Gathering who have been given odds of 13.00 and 17.00. A bit of a bold shout I know, but I can sense an upset on this one.

Trainer John Thompson is concerned whether they will settle to run out the 2500m, but I’m confident that the two quality colts will perform well on Saturday. There’s also been a fair bit of discussion around Monaco Consul’s four week race gap, but his odds appear not to reflect this and trainer Mike Moroney is confident Consul is the right horse for the race.

I’m hopeful I will be successful this year, but whatever the outcome, the Victoria Derby is a fine race, steeped in tradition, dating back to 1855. It’ll be a grand day – I just hope the morning suit does me justice and my faith in Onemorenomore and Gathering pays off.

Fear not. I’ve not forgotten the Melbourne Cup. I’ll be providing a full breakdown on Friday, with the chief concern at the moment the potential of no less than six Bart Cummings runners in the big one. Watch this space.

But finally, at last, Manhattan Rain showed us what he’s made of and came in second. He was on 6.00 for each way with Centrebet when I recommended him earlier in the week and that almost wiped out the disappointment of ‘Whobe’, who was on a rather skinny 3.00 and even below around race time.

I’m rapidly developing a record of failing to pick out a winner but always pulling out a placer, having repeated the feat in the Caulfield Cup with Kirklees also nowhere to be seen but Roman Emperor making good my each-way shout.

Saturday’s result now also throws up an interesting problem for punters – Bart Cummings is fast becoming a ‘don’t bet against’ trainer, having been behind So You Think and Caulfield Cup winner Viewed. Que much talk of knighthoods, multiple ‘living legends’ and several ‘geniuses’. To many punters, including me, the man is frankly a menace, but credit to him.

He’s also got six horses who could appear in the Melbourne Cup, prompting Sportingbet to offer up a tempting morsel. ‘Will Bart Cummings Win the 2009 Melbourne Cup?’ the bookmaker asks, and they are offering 4.50 on the winner next Tuesday being another Bart beauty. Should you feel Flemington’s gala feature is just a step too far even for him, Sportingbet will give you 1.20.

Three of his six are assured of a start – Viewed, Roman Emperor and Allez Wonder and Sportingbet has Viewed at 7.00 and Roman Emperor at 12.00 for the Melbourne Cup, while Allez Wonder is at 31.00. Current joint favourites with the same bookmaker are Efficient and Alcopop on 6.00.

We all now live in fear of being Barted into oblivion if we dare not to back one of his charges. At least there’s the distraction of the Victoria Derby on Saturday before we have to face the legend and the main event.

Mr Clangtastic remains my shout in the Metropolitan at Randwick tomorrow but he could be pulled from the race if the heavens fail to open. Trainer Marc Conners has been quoted by AAP saying he’ll wait until the last possible moment before making a decision and if the track is good or better he probably won’t be running, such is his preference for the wet.

This begs the question, if he’s not in it, who is going to come out on top? Mr Clangtastic is currently on 5.50 with Sportsbet, while Speed Gifted is current favourite on 3.60 and Ready To Lift is on 6.00 and is my second shout.

I’m not planning to go mental tomorrow though – as the week has gone on the markets for both the ten-race card at Randwick and fixtures for Flemington have become more open and there’s plenty of bookie mantraps ready to chomp your wallet down to size tomorrow.

If you must have a swing at the Epsom Handicap Rangirangdoo has held firm all week and looks reasonable on 3.00 with Sportsbet.

Time to turn back to the NRL betting markets for Friday now, and naturally plenty of cash is going to be put down tomorrow before Sunday and could alter odds slightly, but I don’t expect the head-to-head odds to change much.

Betfair has Melbourne Storm as the favourites on 1.63 and Parramatta Eels are on 2.56. I’ve already said this week that finals betting gives me the creeps, but don’t be fooled by the fact Parramatta have been on a storming run – the Storm are still the better side from the season over all and can become the team of the decade if they win.

On Sunday I’ll make you feel green at the gills by taking you through some of the great NRL upsets, just to cause uncomfortable confusion, but tipsters everywhere are going for the Storm and I’m joining them.

Tomorrow I’ll be providing you with a Randwick overview before racing gets under way – just remember to watch the skies. Turf’s up.

The first day of the week is now defined by the weekend’s horse racing – if my shouts for the weekend have come through, Monday is not blue, it’s green with dollars and smugness.

Let’s backtrack to Friday first, when the Wyong Gold Cup kicked off the weekend at Wyong. I went with Mr Clangtastic after his trainer switched him there at short notice as the rain fell on Thursday and he came through in fine style, 3.70 third favourite with Centrebet when I pointed him out.

As a side issue, the less said about my NRL shout for the Tigers at half-time and Bulldogs at full-time on Friday, the better. Cough cough. Moving swiftly on…….

Next the group 2 Danehill Stakes at Flemington on Saturday provided the entertainment. Black Caviar was on 1.75 on Friday with Centrebet, but I urged a wad on this as she was likely to drop further. Ok, ok, so she did have one of those shaky starts of hers but she won it didn’t she? And she shrank to 1.45 with some bookmakers so no chuckling please.

Unfortunately it was a mighty tough one for her on Saturday and trainer Peter Moody has since revealed she could have sustained a injury with that dodgy start. I’m keeping my eyes on this as she looked a good shot for the Cox Plate and has already made friends with punters and hacked off the bookies with four wins in four.

There was less luck at the Makybe Diva Stakes on the same card at Flemington I’m afraid, but if I’d picked three tricky winners in a row people would be saying something was up. My shout was Heart of Dreams but outsider Vigor took the honours.

Then to the 1600m Chelmesford Stakes at Randwick – it was a tough one and O’Lonhro, the favourite, won it, with my ‘long shot’ shout Roman Emperor fifth.

But wait for it, who’s that in second? Miss Marielle, you beauty, my advice for a Friday placings bet on 6.33 with IASbet.

That’s a three out of four racing success rate for the weekend. It sounds better when I say “75 per cent”.

Tomorrow I’ll have a closer look at some of the midweek racing, and it’s about time I dipped into the tennis betting markets as the US Open hots up. Happy Monday from the Pom de Turf.