THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN - STAKEHOLDERS DESERVE AN EXPLANATION

By Graham Potter | Sunday, May 5, 2013

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily

As with most disputes, the standoff between the race-club and barrier attendants which delayed the start and then ultimately extended the race meeting into the early evening at the Sunshine Coast on Friday was unfortunate.

The question is … was it avoidable?

Situations of this nature generally don’t reach boiling point without simmering away for some time beforehand and it is simply not acceptable when they are allowed to get to a stage where an ‘in-house’ stalemate inconveniences the industry in general.

Clearly there are more questions than answers at this time.

When did the barrier attendants first raise their grievances? Is their discontent justified? Or, are their demands and actions unreasonable? Did the club react quickly enough in addressing the problem? Was the strategy both parties followed suitable for the occasion … and yes, if you like, who was ultimately to blame for the fiasco?

It didn’t just happen. Something went wrong … and, at a minimum, all those long suffering participants who waited for over an hour at the track for a resolution deserve some answers.

Maybe those answers will pacify some … but underline ‘maybe.’

The general response that this unsatisfactory situation elicited from stakeholders at the track was resoundingly negative.

Once again, owners, trainers, jockeys and punters were expected to take up their role of being collateral damage in an incident that was entirely out of their hands … and they were expected to do so in a passive manner devoid of any of the respect that should naturally be due to those who actually put on the show.

Do you think all of those people affected by the club’s untimely management’s confrontation with its staff will be given a courtesy of an official explanation … the courtesy of an update on what happened in their follow-up meeting … and what guarantees have been put in place to ensure such a stand-off does not happen again? Or will only a formal inquiry help racegoers regain their confidence?

Or will it all be swept under the carpet?

More questions!

Ideally, of course this sorry saga should all have been sorted out in good time behind closed doors but racegoers and participants were not the ones that brought this stoush into the public domain.

That the club managed to do that all by itself. Now they need to deal with it!

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Talking about disputes … they don’t come much bigger than the one fronting a New South Wales stewards’ inquiry on Monday.

That’s when the bell will go for the next round of the Singleton / Waterhouse heavyweight clash.

Singleton is every bit the affable, fun loving larrikin that his image projects but he is also an intuitive, tough businessman who doesn’t suffer fools easily. Nor does he like being treated like one.

Last Saturday at Randwick, Singleton believed he was being left out of the loop with regard to both the well-being and the chances of his star mare More Joyous.

Nobody knows the power of the media more than this advertising guru and apparently nobody fears the consequences of speaking their mind to the media any less than Singleton does. He’d had enough and was unhappy enough to say so to a national television audience.

Most importantly, he first cited his concerns before the race. Post-race, after More Joyous had turned in an abysmal performance by her standards, Singleton seemed more convinced than ever that the information he claimed to have been given … namely that More Joyous could not win … had been spot on the mark.

The fact that this supposed information had, according to Singleton, emanated from leading bookmaker Tom Waterhouse, the son of More Joyous’ trainer Gai Waterhouse, was not only a huge sticking point with Singleton, it has also now become the centrepiece of an inquiry that is likely to enthral the racing world in the week ahead.

If everyone sticks to their guns it is going to be some fire-fight … but will they?

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