The bookie, the Immortal, the jockey and the brothel owner embroiled in the John Singleton, Gai Waterhouse feud IT was supposed to be just another Friday night game of NRL. Instead, it ignited a feud that has destroyed one of racing's tightest friendships. A throwaway line inside a corporate suite at the Souths-Manly blockbuster at Brookvale Oval last Friday night led to a series of phone calls that alerted owner John Singleton that all did not seem to be quite right with his champion horse More Joyous. It can be revealed that punter and brothel owner Eddie Hayson was in a corporate suite at the footy on Friday night. The next day, hours before More Joyous was due to run at Randwick in the All Aged Stakes, Singleton was notified by friend and former jockey Allan Robinson that there was allegedly a problem with the Gai Waterhouse-trained horse. Pressure: Joey Johns feels the heat Joey and Tom Andrew Johns had a rare night off from his Channel 9 NRL commentary duties last Friday night. But he still turned up at Brookvale Oval with a group of mates to watch the Sea Eagles play the Rabbitohs. The league Immortal is a coaching consultant for Manly and wanted to keep an eye on the team. The previous day, he bumped into bookmaker Tom Waterhouse, who pays Channel 9 to appear on rugby league broadcasts, at the Anzac Day game between the Roosters and the Dragons. They shook hands and started talking about the races at Randwick on Saturday. What exactly was said in this conversation is at the centre of the Singleton-Waterhouse feud that has rocked Sydney racing. According to sources, Tom Waterhouse said he wasn't confident about More Joyous's chances at Randwick. How it began: The secret calls that started a feud The Heritage Lounge Tom Waterhouse was also at Brookvale Oval on Friday night to spruik his odds on the Channel 9 broadcast from the sideline. Joey joined his mates in the Heritage Lounge, a new corporate function area at the back of the Jane Try grandstand. There were 200 guests in the room, including Johns' mate, notorious punter Eddie Hayson. Hayson was involved in one of Australia's biggest betting controversies - the Lucy's Light greyhound string - and has owned racehorses with Johns. A number of guests in the suite were discussing the last day of the Sydney autumn carnival, where More Joyous was due to race in the All Aged Stakes. Whatever Tom Waterhouse told Johns the previous day is believed to have been repeated in the room. It is understood most of those privy to the conversation got the impression Gai Waterhouse didn't think her horse could win. The jockey Allan Robinson is the larrikin jockey who retired from riding last year. He has regularly appeared on Channel 9's The Footy Show and is friends with a number of footballers, including Andrew and Matthew Johns. He is also thick with Singleton. Robinson and the former advertising guru turned media mogul first met 30 years ago and have been mates ever since. About mid-morning on Saturday, Robinson telephoned Singleton to pass on what he had heard about More Joyous the previous evening. "Robbo only rang Singo because he thought he was going to back the horse and wanted to find out if he'd heard of issues with the horse," a source said. In the end, he's saved Singo the $100,000 that he was going to put on the horse. The spin Both Robinson and Johns have been under huge pressure from the commercial TV networks to tell their side of the story since it broke. Grant Vandenberg, the celebrity media agent who acts for Russell Crowe and broadcaster Alan Jones, contacted Robinson on Monday to try to persuade him to appear on A Current Affair. Robinson was wary of doing so because Vandenberg has had horses trained by Waterhouse. He was also a guest at Tom Waterhouse's wedding. Channel 7's Today Tonight then secured Robinson to tell his side of the story on the program which will air tonight. Channel 9 Andrew Johns is on a $300,000-a-year contract at Channel 9 as an expert on The Footy Show and on NRL broadcasts. His bosses David Gyngell and Jeff Browne have spoken to him this week about not getting himself involved in horse racing dramas. There has also been pressure from Luke Ricketson, who is married to Kate Waterhouse, and is an advertising sales executive at the network. Johns has declined to tell his side of the story to the network, remembering the heartache it caused his brother Matthew when he appeared on A Current Affair after the Cronulla Sharks sex scandal was uncovered. Instead, Johns put out a statement through his manager John Fordham yesterday. The owner John Singleton, More Joyous's owner-breeder, has refused to comment since Saturday's extraordinary outburst at Randwick before and after his champion mare's poor run. Singleton was understood to have met with his lawyers yesterday to clarify his legal position, particularly if Racing NSW stewards demand he "name names" at Monday's inquiry into the affair. When contacted yesterday, Singleton sounded his normal cheerful self but would not talk about his fallout with the Waterhouse family. "Sorry mate, I can't comment," Singleton said. I'd love to have a chat with you about this but the lawyers have told me I can't. Got to wait for Monday (the stewards inquiry). Singleton made a telling comment about his mood when he left Randwick on Saturday night: "This (racing) used to be fun, it's not fun anymore." The bookies Tom Waterhouse has steadfastly denied suggestions he knew of any problem with More Joyous or that he told Johns the mare could not win. When contacted yesterday, the young bookie was not wavering from his version of events. "To suggest I told anyone that More Joyous had a problem and could not win is just ridiculous," he said. The first time I spoke to Mum about More Joyous was after the race when she rang me to ask if I had said anything about the mare to anyone and I told her I hadn't. This whole thing is just so wrong but I can't talk any more about it. Gai's husband Robbie Waterhouse was also drawn into the affair when he sought out Singleton after the last race on Saturday. There were angry words exchanged and stewards are also investigating this altercation. The trainer Gai Waterhouse maintained a dignified silence about the affair during her first visit to the Warrnambool jumps carnival yesterday. Racing's first lady was stalked by a large contingent of print and electronic media at the meeting but she declined to comment on the matter. Waving to racegoers who shouted encouragement as she arrived at the course, Waterhouse went on to speak at a private lunch. All questions from journalists about her stoush with Singleton were met with a firm "no comment." Waterhouse has maintained More Joyous was fit to contest the All Aged Stakes despite having had the mare treated with antibiotics on Thursday prior to the race. Under the rules of racing, trainers need to inform stewards when a horse is given any treatment prior to a race. Waterhouse could face sanction on Monday for not informing stewards of More Joyous's neck issue.