Chris Gordon's deputy Declan Buckley accuses Liz Doyle of being abusive

Declan Buckley, deputy head of security to Chris Gordon at the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, claimed in the High Court on Friday that Liz Doyle was abusive towards him following the controversial inspection of her premises in March 2014.

Buckley was giving evidence on the eighth day of proceedings during a case in which Gordon is suing the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association for defamation.

After seeking an explanation as to why her stable was subject to investigation, Doyle was presented with a number of documents at Fairyhouse on April 6, including a copy of a lodgement slip that alleged to have linked her with disgraced former vet John Hughes.

It has been stated that, when Doyle gives evidence, she will reject the validity of the document she was shown at Fairyhouse compared to the one that was produced to her on the morning her yard was inspected by the then Turf Club and the Department of Agriculture.

Recounting that afternoon at Fairyhouse, Buckley claimed from the witness stand: "As she was looking at it [the document], she snatched it completely out of my hand.

“She completely lost her cool and she got very aggressive and abusive.”

He added: "She snapped it out of my hand and it tore. I could do nothing about it. She calmed down a few minutes later and she said, 'I thought you were a nice man but I've changed my mind about that now.' There were witnesses to this."

Buckley said the trainer's former partner, Barry Murphy, subsequently threatened him in the parade ring at Fairyhouse.

Buckley claimed: "I could see out of the corner of my eye Barry Murphy, who was her partner, coming, and coming at some pace, towards me.”

He added: "I said to myself, 'this man is going to assault me'. I stood my ground and he came up to me and stuck his finger right in my face and said, 'How dare you treat Liz Doyle in the manner you've treated her in the weigh room? You don't realise, the – 'F' word – ferocious pull we have and I will, 'F' you and the Turf Club.'

"When he finished his tirade of abuse I tried to be reasonable with him and call him back. Obviously Liz had spoken to him, but she gave him the wrong version of events because I was not abusive to Liz Doyle in any way. I was very professional and didn't raise my voice once."

Buckley went on to claim Doyle accused him of lying and falsifying IHRB documents pertaining to her during separate encounters at Gowran Park and Ballinrobe.

It was claimed by Buckley that in October 2014, at Gowran Park, Doyle questioned his credibility.

He claimed: “I was standing at the bottom of the parade ring leading into the stable yard and Liz Doyle came right up to me and said, 'You're the one that's telling all the lies. There is more integrity in the dirt under my fingernails than there is in either you or Chris Gordon. I am going to say this as often as I can and to as many people as I can whenever I get the opportunity. You are forging documents and telling lies.'"

The court was also told that Doyle accused Buckley of being a liar when their paths crossed at Ballinrobe in April 2018.

Asked when was the last time Doyle accused Buckley of being a liar, he responded: "In the courtroom last week when she lent over and said to me, 'I suppose you're going to go up into the [witness] box and lie under an oath.'”

Buckley was cross-examined throughout the afternoon and it was put to him that Doyle will give a different version of the events at Fairyhouse in her evidence.

The case is set to run into its ninth day on Tuesday at 11am.

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