As well as wearing black and green "Go The Pop" rosettes, they gathered in a circle to give a team hug as the excitement grew.

There were kisses for jockey Dom Tourneur and parting words for him of "go out and do your thing".

And it was no wonder they were bubbling with anticipation and confidence.

Alcopop would be one of the great stories of the Melbourne Cup if he'd won, with the South Australian galloper having burst from obscurity to favouritism with two commanding wins early in the Melbourne Spring Carnival.

He had gone from a Balaklava Cup victory to taking out the listed JRA Cup at Moonee Valley and group two Herbert Power at Caulfield, and was then put in cotton wool back home for a month.

Only on Sunday did he return to Victoria, at Terry Kelly's stables in Ballarat.

Trainer Jake Stephens and his fellow owners continued the ride as they took their seats in the grandstand.

Some could not stop fidgeting.

They joined in the roar that rippled through the 100,000-plus crowd as the field jumped, and as Alcopop ($4.80 favourite) settled midfield on the fence, so did they.

The excitement resurfaced as Tourneur eased off the fence, but their dream of Melbourne Cup glory was not to eventuate as the five-year-old weighed in sixth - this time, anyway.

But as Tourneur said, Alcopop "is only a young pup still so he's got a long way to go yet".

Ballarat's other visitor, New Zealander Capecover ($101), was never able to get in to the race and finished 17th - one place behind Michelle Payne on the Bart Cummings-trained Allez Wonder ($26).

It was Payne's first Melbourne Cup ride.