Punter Eddie Hayson did not back More Joyous in the All Aged Stakes because he was told the mare had problems leading up to the race, the stewards’ inquiry into the mare’s performance heard on Monday.
Hayson named his two sources to Racing NSW stewards in camera, after earlier saying one of them had a “connection” to trainer Gai Waterhouse’s stable.
He said that after talking to football personality Andrew Johns on Friday, April 26, at a rugby league match between Manly and Souths, he contacted his sources to find out what they knew.
Johns has told the inquiry he advised Hayson that bookmaker Tom Waterhouse, the son of the trainer, had said he did not like It’s A Dundeel, All Too Hard and More Joyous at the Randwick meeting on the following day.
That prompted Hayson to make inquiries, as More Joyous was the only horse he planned to back on the Saturday.
“I was only interested in More Joyous because she was the only one I was going to back,” Hayson said.
“On Saturday morning I made inquiries and the second source told me I wouldn’t be going anywhere near it.
“I was told the vets had been going over it all week and the horse had problems.”
Hayson said he did not speak to Johns about the health of the horse the previous night.
“All he said to me was that Tom didn’t fancy the horse,” he said.
Johns and former jockey Allan Robinson fronted the inquiry to explain a series of phone calls made on the afternoon of the race, in which More Joyous finished second last.
The inquiry centres on allegations there was something wrong with More Joyous that should have been brought to the attention of stewards.
The mare’s owner, John Singleton, publicly sacked Gai Waterhouse as his trainer after the race, saying in television interviews that he had been told she could not win.
After being told by Hayson there were problems with More Joyous, Robinson rang Singleton at the races and relayed what he had heard, mentioning Johns’ part in the conversations.
A contrite Johns told the inquiry he had become embarrassed and agitated over his part in the affair, which has destroyed the longstanding trainer-owner relationship between Gai Waterhouse and Singleton.
He had contacted Singleton in the ensuing days because he also feared for his contract with the Nine network. The network also features Tom Waterhouse in its sports broadcasts.
Johns apologised for having possibly “exaggerated” when he spoke to others now embroiled in the scandal.
“I’m not certain what I said to Mr Hayson at the rugby league on Friday night and then the Chinese whispers, as it’s been reported, has gone from there,” he said.
“I’m incredibly sorry … I was devastated that somehow I’ve inadvertently caused the drama that went on, that is still going on 16 days after the event.”
Asked if there had been any attempt to embarrass Tom Waterhouse because of previous legal dealings over unpaid gambling debts, Hayson replied, “There are no ill feelings towards Tom Waterhouse. It’s done and dusted. It’s paid and settled.”
