Court saga an unsavoury affair that damaged the image of trainers and regulator

The bitter, long-running High Court saga that ended with Chris Gordon winning €300,000 in damages plus costs after a High Court jury found that he was subjected to "an orchestrated and severe campaign" against his good name is over but the ramifications will play out for a while yet.

It is six years since Gordon, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board's head of security, initiated the process of suing the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association for defamation. The case, which sat for 30 days and concluded late last Wednesday night,is believed to have already been one of the – if not the – longest-running defamation cases before a court in the history of the state.

If nothing else, at a time when economic activity in so many sectors has ground to a halt, that will keep both sides' respective legal teams from the poor house. The aggregate costs are estimated to have run to well in excess of €1 million, and they will likely run some more yet.