The power of the Melbourne Cup was never more evident to owner and long-time racing fan Gerry Ryan than in the months after the 2010 AFL grand final.

Ryan had watched his beloved St Kilda draw a dramatic MCG thriller with Collingwood in that year’s decider only to see them fall short in the rematch the following week.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for the lifelong St Kilda fan and former board member, but the pain was partly lifted when his imported galloper Americain won that year’s Melbourne Cup .

Not long after, Collingwood president Eddie McGuire invited Ryan to dinner at Stokehouse.

“Eddie said, ‘you bring your cup, and I’ll bring mine’,” Ryan recalled this week.

“And only 15 per cent of the patrons wanted a photograph with the Collingwood cup, but 100 per cent wanted a pictu

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