Retired jockey Allan Robinson says he is horrified over the public falling out of John Singleton and trainer Gai Waterhouse that followed a phone call he made to the millionaire businessman over the condition of his horse More Joyous.
Singleton has accused Waterhouse’s son, the bookmaker Tom Waterhouse, of telling people the champion mare could not win the All Aged Stakes at Randwick last Saturday.
He has since withdrawn his stable of horses from Waterhouse.
“I’m horrified,” Robinson told Today Tonight on Channel Seven, referring to the fallout following the race when More Joyous finished seventh in a field of eight.
He put his call down to as just one mate telling another mate about some issues he had heard about More Joyous.
He defended Gai Waterhouse saying she would not let a horse run if it was not 100 per cent, but then pointed out that something must have been wrong, because More Joyous finished seventh.
“He hasn’t picked grass since and if that’s not an issue, then I’m not here,” he said.
When asked if he would do the same thing again, Robinson made a lengthy pause, before saying: “Should you let it lie? Don’t know.”
At a trackside inquiry on Saturday, Singleton refused to divulge the names of “trusted friends” who had told him Tom Waterhouse was saying there was a problem with More Joyous.
On Tuesday Singleton’s friend and rugby league legend Andrew Johns released a statement dismissing claims Tom Waterhouse had tipped him off about the condition of More Joyous.
At the initial inquiry on Saturday, Singleton refused to divulge the names of “trusted friends” who had told him Tom Waterhouse was saying before the race there was a problem with More Joyous.
As a registered owner, he can be compelled to do so at the next stage of the inquiry.
But on Wednesday night, he broke his silence.
“Names have already been named so my reluctance to name names has been taken away by the names naming themselves,” he told Channel Nine.
When asked if Johns and Robinson were those people, Singleton replied: “Yeah, they’re both the people who rang me, yes.”
Tom Waterhouse has denied the accusations and will front the reconvened inquiry next Monday.
It was revealed during Saturday’s preliminary inquiry that More Joyous had been treated with antibiotics leading up to the All Aged but she had been cleared to run by two vets, including the one employed by Singleton.
