Pierro remains favourite but has continued to drift on the eve of the Cox Plate, out from $3.50 to $3.60 with online bookmaker sportsbet.

Once as short as $1.85 before his shock loss in the Caulfield Guineas, punter support has been limited since then, however he is still the best backed horse with more than double the money on him than any other horse in the race.

Despite drifting from $8.50 to $9.00, More Joyous has emerged as the punters pick, with more bets on her than any other horse, including one bet of $10,000 at $7.50.

“A few weeks ago we couldn’t take money on anyone but Pierro, but since his loss it has done a complete turnaround. At his best he looks hard to beat, but there is still a lot of uncertainty around him getting the distance and that looks to have scared the punters off,” said sportsbet.com.au’s Shaun Anderson.

“With all the talk around Pierro, Green Moon and Ocean Park, More Joyous has flown under the radar a bit, but she certainly hasn’t been forgotten by punters with more interest in her than any other horse.”

Cox Plate 2012
(Prices in brackets from Saturday 20th October)
$3.60 Pierro (out from $3.50)
$4.80 Green Moon (in from $5.50)
$5.50 Ocean Park (steady)
$8.00 Proisir (in from $8.50)
$9.00 More Joyous (out from $8.50)
$10 All Too Hard (out from $9.00)
$21 Rekindled Interest (steady)
$21 Ethiopia (steady)
$26 Sincero (out from $21)
$34 Happy Trails (in from $26)
$41 Southern Speed (out from $26)
$41 Shoot Out (out from $34)
$41 Rangirangdoo (out from $34)
$51 Linton (out from $41)
$51 Glencadam Gold (out from $34)
$67 Glass Harmonium (out from $41)
$67 Americain, Shahwardi
$101 Mourayan
$201 Midas Touch