Favourite Viewed battled on for Bart Cummings but failed to run a place. While Alcopop and Cummings's other runners Roman Emporer and Allez Wonder failed to make an impression.

The race started under clouded skies and it was Damien Oliver on Warringah which led Fiumicino past the post for the first time, with the roar of the 102,181 racegoers failing to move the field beyond what was a pedestrian pace.

Around the back of the course, as horses settled in for the journey, there was still no urgency. Brown waited for his opportunity on the lightly weighted local and weaved his way to the front of the pack.

As the field straightened into the run to the post it was Shocking, paying $10, and Crime Scene which broke away. Shocking had more left in the tank and eased away to finish a length clear.

Trainer Mark Kavanagh said it was a remarkable win and something he had dreamed of since he was six years old. Few of those who watched on at Flemington would deny Kavanagh is one of the most deserved recipients of the Cup, following a spate of spring carnivals mired in bad luck.

His now retired star, Maldivian, famously injured its neck in the barriers of the Caulfield Cup in 2007 and only last week, raging Derby favourite Shamoline Warrior was an 11th hour withdrawal from that race because of illness.

Kavanagh conceded his journey had been tough, but said he had never lost belief.

"The Spring Carnival is a tough time for everyone. You just have to roll with the punches," he said.

"If you let those things take you off track, you just lose sight of the ball and you just can't do that."

With a smile as wide as the Flemington track, Kavanagh said his toughest decision now was deciding how to celebrate.

"I've got no idea... I don't know... I don't know".

For jockey Corey Brown it was a remarkable turn around from the disappointment of losing last year's race by a bob of the head when he rode Bauer behind Viewed.

"Last year was very disappointing but I've got it," Brown said.

"I've finally won the Melbourne Cup.

"My dream has come true, I can't describe it, it's unbelievable.

"If everyone could feel what I'm feeling now, it's just incredible. "I've had a spot on my mantlepiece for this Cup for a long time and now I can finally put one there." "Great job Mark Kavanagh and the horse, he travelled three deep with no cover, I know he had the light weight but he toughed it out so well."

The threatening Melbourne weather held off, providing a mild day with the occasional bursts of sunshine. Many, caught off-guard by breaks in the cloud cover, wandered the Flemington grassed area sporting pink-tinged skin.

The dry weather meant the track was firmer than many of the foreign invaders would have preferred, but the conditions were proved perfect for Shocking and local trainer Kavanagh.