Trainer Mark Kavanagh admitted it had been a long night with little sleep, owner Laurence Eales had no sleep at all while jockey Corey Brown was in bed by a sedate 1am.

''I'm not in pristine condition,'' Kavanagh said yesterday.

''Just like Coke tastes better out of a glass bottle, French champagne tastes a lot better out of the Melbourne Cup.

''But I did make it to the stables this morning.''

The hero of the hour, Shocking, pulled up best of all from his exertions and as well as thinking about taking him to the Dubai World Cup meeting in March, Kavanagh is keen to sit down with Eales and talk about England.

''Last night he was going everywhere,'' Kavanagh said.

''But we will have a look at things. The people from Royal Ascot spoke to us on Monday and there are some nice races over there.

''[Stablemate] Whobegotyou has already been invited to Dubai so there's a lot to think about.''

Both Whobegotyou and Shocking are by Dubai World Cup winner Street Cry who stands at Sheikh Mohammed's Darley Studs. With Whobegotyou a dual Group1 winner and Shocking taking the Melbourne Cup, Eales's investment has reaped huge rewards.

''I just had a gut feeling about Street Cry,'' he said.

He also had an instinct about Kavanagh, choosing him as the trainer for his fledgling racing operation.

''I read about him, he had a small stable in Melbourne and I knew he had to work hard and he took the time to come and look at the horses.''

At that stage, the young horses were at Eales's property in Far North Queensland where his children were the first to ride them.

Although he foiled Bart Cummings's bid for a 13th Cup, Kavanagh paid tribute to the country's most revered trainer.

''As a young boy I used to watch him at his stables in Adelaide,'' he said.

''You would see these horses who were scrawny little things and six months later they would look like different horses.

''It's all about having them peak at the right time and not too soon.''

For Brown, the reality of having the Melbourne Cup in his hands erased the memory of 2008 when he was beaten on Bauer in the closest photo-finish on record.

''Last year played on my mind a lot,'' Brown said.

''I got sick of seeing it replayed over and over.

''At the time I didn't think I'd won but the more you see it the closer it looks.''

Having won the Victoria Derby and Melbourne Cup, Brown will continue his spring campaign at Flemington aboard Melito in today's VRC Oaks.

AAP