While Delta Blues drifted in betting from $16 to $18, runner-up Pop Rock was crunched from $7.50 into equal $6 favouritism.
Leading bookmaker Simon Beasley said while the margin between the raiders at the finish was narrow it was massive in terms of the margin for bagmen.
"It was a good result. I took a bet of $8,000 at $18 but it would have been a terribly big swing if Pop Rock won," Beasley said.
"It would have been a wipeout if he won.
"I'll be going to my local Japanese restaurant tonight for a toast."
Betting eases
Australians punted almost $140 million on this year’s Melbourne Cup.
But the figure of $138.8 million was down almost three percent on last year's $143 million wagered on Makybe Diva's third Cup victory.
The most dramatic fall was in NSW, where punters shelled out $53.1 million, down five percent on last year on the great race.
Punters in Victoria, the Cup's host state, bet $35 million on the race, down one percent on 2005.
Spokeswoman for the TAB, Elise Sullivan, reported that while there was a slight fall in Cup betting this year, figures were up over the full day at Flemington.
"The turnover is up nine percent across today's entire Flemington meeting," Sullivan said.
"While cup betting had a small drop, punters are betting more than ever over the whole day."
Historic quinella
The racing industry is still reeling this morning after the Japanese plundered the $5 million Cup.
It was the first Cup success by a Japanese raider.
Katsumi Yoshida, one of the people instrumental in the establishment of Japan's relatively young thoroughbred industry, knew he had two horses who would be competitive and the assault was planned with precision.
Local racing identities paid tribute to the investment people like the Yoshida brothers have made in Japan and warned that the rest of the world would have to lift its game in the international racing arena.
"Good on them, they put so much money into their racing and breeding and I take my hat off to them," said Graeme Rogerson, trainer of fourth-placed Zipping.