Gai v Singo: WTF is going on?

We'll assume he wasn't blowing up about her fashion sense Source: The Daily Telegraph

Businessman John Singleton has sacked trainer Gai Waterhouse following a clash on live television.

ON THE surface, the John Singleton/Gai Waterhouse bust-up is a story about racing. But it's actually about much more than that.

It is about friendship, family, integrity, trust and the fundamental problems with having an upstart 32-year-old bookmaker in every Australian lounge room.

If you've missed the finer points, here's a super quick five point summary, followed by five early lessons from this still unfolding yarn:

1. THE BLOW-UP
Colourful businessman and horse owner John Singleton splits acrimoniously on live television with his long-term trainer Gai Waterhouse. Gai is the mum of Tom Waterhouse, whose relentless self-promotion has made him one of Australia's most disliked public figures.

2. THE FAILURE
The split occurs because Singleton has a mare called More Joyous engaged in a big race called the All aged Stakes at Randwick. More Joyous is no Black Caviar, but it once won eight races in a row. On Saturday it runs second last.

3. THE ALLEGATIONS
Singo blows up after the race, not because his horse has lost, but because he says a friend heard from Tom Waterhouse that the horse had health issues and was "no chance" of winning. The inference is that Tom must have got that info from Gai. Tom Waterhouse denies the allegations and is considering legal action.

4. THE FOOTY STAR TIE-IN
It then emerges that Waterhouse tipped Channel Nine commentator Andrew Johns a different horse to More Joyous in a casual interaction during Friday Night Footy. On The Sunday Footy Show, Johns says Waterhouse said nothing negative about the horse's health. He also reveals that he himself backed More Joyous. Meanwhile, Waterhouse says he lost $300K on the race, thereby inferring that he wanted More Joyous to win, and believed it could win.

5. THE TENSE PHONE CALL
There is also reportedly a phone call between mother and son where Gai asks Tom if he has told anyone More Joyous was not well enough to win. Tom says 'no, Mum'. A more thorough inquest will take place next Monday, headed by NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy.

SO THERE'S YOUR SUMMARY. NOW HERE ARE FIVE THINGS WE'VE LEARNED SO FAR...

1. THE FAMILY DEFENCE DOESN'T CUT IT
The Waterhouses really have to stop defending each other in public. Three weeks ago, Gai Waterhouse said everyone should lay off her son because he was such a productive young Australian. Today Tom Waterhouse has defended his Mum saying "if anyone does not think Mum is out there trying to win every time, they don't know her". Gee, that settles it, then.

2. PEOPLE NOW LIKE TOM EVEN LESS
Tom Waterhouse is everywhere, bombarding people of all ages with his gambling information. The guy has a weird role on Nine's Friday Night Footy which is passed off as editorial content when really he's just spruiking gambling odds. People don't like him for that. Now that he's embroiled in all this, they like him even less.

3. SOMETHING LIKE THIS WAS ALWAYS GOING TO HAPPEN
When you're hanging out with that many sports stars who enjoy a bet, and when you're a bookie whose Mum is a top horse trainer, there will always be people like John Singleton who question the information chain. The words "conflict of interest" come very strongly to mind.

4. THE WATERHOUSE NAME TAKES ANOTHER BATTERING
Tom's father Robbie and grandfather Bill were warned off Australian racecourses for being implicated in the Fine Cotton horse substitution scandal in the 1980s. Tom plays on his family's gambling knowledge in his ads, as though it's something people should respect. In truth, many people still haven't got over Fine Cotton.

5. RACING IS BACK TO NORMAL AFTER BLACK CAVIAR
Two weeks ago, racing was in the headlines for a fast horse which always tried its hardest and won every race it contested. Children loved the horse, and racing momentarily seemed like a happy, open, family kind of sport. How very quaint that suddenly seems.