John Singleton will buy 40,000 drinks if Hawaii Five Oh wins The Everest

Larrikin racehorse owner John Singleton has promised to “shout the public bar” at Royal Randwick if his horse Hawaii Five Oh wins The Everest on Saturday.

Larrikin racehorse owner John Singleton has promised to “shout the public bar” at Royal Randwick if his horse Hawaii Five Oh wins The Everest on Saturday.

His offer comes after the Australian Turf Club offered to buy just its members a drink if Overpass, which is jumping from the ATC slot, comes home first.

“Most of the committee are freeloaders anyway and they have lost the common touch if they are only going to shout the members,’’ Mr Singleton said.

“If Hawaii Five Oh wins, of course I will shout the public. It will be a bit of fun.”

The ATC offer to buy members on course a drink if Overpass wins will cover around 5000 people where as Mr Singleton’s shout could extend to more than 40,000 people and cost more than $300,000.

John Singleton will shout the bar at Royal Randwick if Hawaii Five Oh wins The Everest on Saturday. Picture By Ryan Osland/The Australian

Prize money for coming home first is now $7 million and Singo, who owns the Gai Waterhouse trained Hawaii Five Oh with retailer Gerry Harvey and radio presenter Ray Hadley, thinks he may well end up with the enormous bar bill.

“I think we are a chance, too. I know Gai is very confident, so if Gai is confident, then so am I. The horse is really well, we’ve got the right jockey (James McDonald) so we just need a bit of luck now,” he said.

And if their horse storms home first in The Everest there will be no problem for members of the public actually getting to the bar with a 40 per cent increase in food and beverage outlets across the course and a 50 per cent increase in toilets.

Mr Harvey said he “reluctantly” supported his mate Singo in his pledge to shout the bar but only if he could “turn off the taps in the members bar” at the same time.

“I am supporting him with very little effort on my part apart from making sure the lines at the bar are not too long,” Mr Harvey said.

However he is not too concerned about having to pick up half the tab after Hawaii Five Oh drew barrier 10 and left Mr Harvey convinced that the horse is “showing all the signs of finishing in the last three”.

Overpass with horse handler Bobbie Staveley, takes to the water ahead of this weekend’•s, The Everest. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Meanwhile ATC members will be cheering hard for the Bjorn Baker trained Overpass to come home first in the world’s richest race on turf.

ATC head of Membership and Corporate Affairs Steve McMahon said if Overpass won, any member at The Everest would have $20 loaded onto their membership card to spend at The Big Dance race day at Royal Randwick on Melbourne Cup Day.

“Overpass is our horse at the TAB Everest this Saturday and we want our Members and the public to share in the spoils of victory if he wins,” Mr McMahon said.

“If Overpass wins on Saturday it’s lunch or a few drinks on us at The Big Dance on Tuesday November 7 at Royal Randwick for Members.” Guests of members are not included in the restricted offer.

If Overpass wins there will also be a special happy hour with cut price drinks for the general public at The Big Dance.

John Singleton (C) hugs former PM Bob Hawke, watched by wife Blanche d‘Alpuget, after their racehorse Belle Du Jour won the 2000 Golden Slipper. After the victory Singo shouted the bar at Rosehill.

Singo famously shouted the bar at Rosehill after Belle du Jour, which he owned with former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, won the Golden Slipper in 2000 after a terrible start.

The legendary ad man recalls the $1 million pay day from a $100,000 bet as one of his most memorable days at the races which he celebrated by shouting the public bar.

“It would certainly be the most exciting, unforgettable day I’ve ever had,” Singleton has said. “You can’t top that.

“You can’t get away from Belle du Jour, because wherever you go, people talk about what a miracle win it was, or certainly how they liked the free beer in the public, not the members.”