Why this Feud is really all about Tom

Gai Waterhouse, Tom Waterhorse and John Singleton arrive at Racing NSW HQ for the inquiry into the running of More Joyous in the All Aged Stakes.

HE arrived with a fake smirk plastered to his face which vanished as soon as he entered Racing NSW headquarters. By 5pm, he was so confident he'd dodged a bullet that he said "well, that was pretty entertaining, wasn't it" in the corridor outside the hearing room.

Today's inquiry was all about a fight between trainer Gai Waterhouse and disgruntled owner John Singleton, both of whom are large enough personalities to carry this soap opera on their own.

But in reality, it was all about Tom Waterhouse, the man in the middle of it all.

As we know, Tom has a talent for being stuck in the middle and avoiding the knocks. In his ubiquitous ads, which rudely interrupt every sporting broadcast, Tom dodges boofy footballers and herds of thundering thoroughbreds yet never earns a scratch.

The question was, could he avoid the fallout in this clash between his mother and John Singleton?

For now, he has. The hearing resumes tomorrow, and to use a bit of racing speak, Tom Waterhouse is odds-on to walk away without so much as a slap on the wrist, after a day in which he virtually proved he had no part whatsoever in the More Joyous affair.

Powerhouse... More Joyous tears up the field last year. Picture: Mark Evans

This was a long day. Singo arrived in sneakers, Gai in a regal purple outfit with matching bag, Tom in his trademark dark suit. It was the larrikin, the queen and the bagman. Others were under the spotlight too, including vets, racing managers, jockeys and more.

All of it was to get to the core of two key matters.

Firstly, what exactly was the medical condition of the champion mare More Joyous on April 27? And secondly, if the horse was indeed "off", as Singleton claimed he was told, who relayed that information to John Singleton?

Was it the man in the middle, Tom Waterhouse? Or was it just racetrack tittle-tattle that spread from one person to the next?

The best exchange of the day revolved around that word "off". Racing people speak a language unto themselves. To them, the word "off" means more than "off colour". It is racetrack jargon that means "can't win" and it can apply to horses, bookies or punters.

Gai Waterhouse and the figures at the heart of the inquiry were mobbed by the media upon arrival. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Singleton maintained today that Andrew Johns told him on the Saturday of the race that the mare More Joyous was "off". He said Johns had spoken to Tom Waterhouse at a rugby league match, where the two were working for the Channel Nine team.

But Waterhouse saw it differently. He said Johns called him the Sunday after the race and said "I have no idea why I said the word off, I had no idea why I said the word off".

A lot of people didn't look comfortable today. Gai Waterhouse's trusty stable representative David Meijer was a little uncertain in his recollection of the early symptoms of More Joyous's mild inflammation.

Gai Waterhouse was her usual feisty self, yet was strangely hesitant at some key moments. She was momentarily stuck for words, an incredibly rare Waterhouse affliction, when it was revealed she didn't keep a record in her stable notes of the medication administered to More Joyous on the Thursday and Friday before the race.

Throughout the day, Waterhouse and Singleton kept sniping at each other. In one memorable blow-up, Gai attacked Singo for swearing at her in the mounting yard. The two shot glances at each other all day and late in the day, the trainer called her former client a "sham".

Controversial... Tom Waterhouse heads to today's hearing. Picture: Porteous Gregg

But ultimately, this day belonged to Tom Waterhouse. Don't let the ads fool you. This bloke loves nothing better than getting on the front foot, and has clearly inherited his mother's aggressive streak.

This was evidenced by the belligerent moment when he asked John Singleton how much he'd had to drink on the day.

"Two or three beers before the race and as much as I could drink afterwards," was Singleton's memorable reply.

But the moment that really revealed his triumphalism was when he demanded Singleton apologise. "It might be a good time for you to say sorry now," Tom said, after his betting ledgers had been forensically examined, revealing he had lost $256,000 on the race.

In other words, on the basis that money talks, we had before us conclusive evidence that Tom Waterhouse really had thought More Joyous could win, and had lost heavily when it didn't.

All smiles... John Singleton today. Picture: Gregg Porteous

So for now, it appears Tom Waterhouse is off the hook. He denies being the source of the comment that More Joyous was "off", or any information even vaguely to that effect, and it appears likely stewards will concur.

But in the minds of many, Tom Waterhouse remains "off" in the old-fashioned sense of the word, as in plain old unpalatable.

Some people don't like Tom Waterhouse, not because of tall poppy syndrome, but because we don't like gambling shoved down our throat when we and our kids are watching the telly.

Some Australians disagree with his blurry role as commentator/advertiser on Channel Nine's rugby league because it entrenches gambling within a mainstream sport, where they believe it doesn't belong.

Gambling's spiritual home is the racetrack, an inequitable universe where those with the knowledge have always thrived, and those without it are broke.

Tom Waterhouse appears to have been locked out of the information chain in this case. But he shouldn't gloat, as I believe he did this evening.

Fact is, as long as a leading bookie and trainer are members of the same family, Australians will continue to have their suspicions about potential conflicts of interest. You don't need to be a millionaire owner like Singo to feel that way.

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