John Singleton removes horses from Gai Waterhouse's stables as Tom Waterhouse threatens to sue

JOHN Singleton has been told to "put up or shut up" as his spat with Gai Waterhouse and her bookmaker son Tom escalated.

RACING officials have told prominent racehorse owner John Singleton to "put up or shut up" as the spat with famed trainer Gai Waterhouse and her bookmaker son Tom escalated.

The demand from Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy comes 24 hours after Singleton accused his trainer of 20 years and her son of being aware that his champion galloper More Joyous had an ailment and couldn't win Saturday's Group 1 All Aged Stakes at Randwick.

Singleton removed all his gallopers before sunrise from the Waterhouse stable, from where she has trained 26 Group 1 winners for him.

And Tom sought legal advice to sue for defamation.

"Stunned and upset by Singo's comments regarding @GaiWaterhouse1 and me. They are completely false and wrong. I'm meeting with lawyers today," he tweeted.

Murrihy will tell Singleton to "name names" when an inquiry into More Joyous's flop resumes at 2pm on Friday.

Singleton has so far refused to reveal the identities of those who told him that the trainer's son had said More Joyous "had problems and can't win".

Singleton is standing by his story.

Murrihy said Singleton would need to provide evidence to substantiate his claims, saying racecourse tattle invariably did not lead to meaningful conclusions.

"If he isn't prepared to stump up with people who presumably had contact with Tom Waterhouse, then it doesn't take us anywhere," Murrihy said.

"I'm sure if the information is relevant, we have the powers to require an owner to provide that information.

"Millions of dollars are being invested on the race, and we need to get to the bottom of this and find out if Tom Waterhouse is being misrepresented in this."

Among the people Singleton refused to name was one he said was a retired Group 1 winning jockey.

Former hoop Malcolm Johnston denied any knowledge or involvement.

Retired NRL star Andrew Johns also has denied reports he was involved.

Tom Waterhouse denies any conversation during the week with his mother, any knowledge of an ailment or treatment, talking to anyone about More Joyous or saying she couldn't win.

Singleton sacked Gai Waterhouse as his trainer immediately after the race.

John Singleton

More Joyous was floated directly from the racetrack to his Strawberry Hill property after the meeting, while two-year-old sister Most Joyful already is spelling at the property.

Tom Waterhouse is dismayed with accusations he was tipped off by his mother and that he used the knowledge in some untoward way.

He said he backed More Joyous and lost $85,000 on the race as a result.

He said his mother was totally dedicated to winning, particularly Group 1 races.

"There is no one who works harder than her. She gets out of bed at 2.30 every morning and she lives and breathes for (horses such as) More Joyous. To think she would start a horse if it was not fit is ridiculous," he said.

He said he was not concerned for himself about the drama, but for his mother.

Murrihy defended the stewards' decision to wait until Friday to resume the inquiry, explaining it was not possible to hold the hearing any sooner.

Gai Waterhouse has a prior commitment at the Warrnambool jumps carnival this week and is not returning to Sydney until Thursday night, while betting steward Terry Griffin is canvassing all the betting information around Australia.

"The stewards want to look at the full betting picture, what bets were placed and taken. We want to look at Tom Waterhouse's betting on the race and see where that takes us," Murrihy said.

Gai Waterhouse said at Saturday's stewards inquiry that More Joyous had been treated with antibiotics on Thursday for heat in her neck, something she and her vet Leanne Begg considered minor.

More Joyous was examined by Begg and Singleton's vet on Saturday morning and both agreed she was fit to race.

Stewards have collected treatment records from the Waterhouse stable.

- with AAP

Owner John Singleton and trainer Gai Waterhouse leave the stewards inquiry at Randwick after More Joyous' was unplaced in the All Aged Stakes Picture: Jermey Piper