1980: two-year-old season

The racing silks of the Aga Khan IV, worn by Lester Piggott and Walter Swinburn when they rode Shergar

On 19 September 1980 Shergar ran his first race, the Kris Plate, with Piggott as his jockey. The race was open to two-year-old colts and geldings over a 1 mile (1.6 km) straight at Newbury. Listed as favourite with odds of 11–8, he kept in behind the leaders before opening up and winning by 2+1⁄2 lengths.^[12][13] Richard Baerlein, the racing correspondent for The Observer, thought Shergar's run was the best from a two-year-old that season.^[14] After the race Stoute said the horse would run one more race that year to gain experience, before resting until the following year.^[13]

Shergar's second race was the 1 mile (1.6 km) William Hill Futurity Stakes at Doncaster, run on 25 October 1980. He was again ridden by Piggott, with odds of 5–2 in a very experienced field of seven.^[15] Shergar sat behind the pace-setting leader for much of the race; when that horse faded, the running was taken up by Beldale Flutter. Shergar challenged for the lead, but Beldale Flutter pulled away and won by 2+1⁄2 lengths; Shergar came in second.^[16][17] After the race, Michael Seely, the racing correspondent of The Times, thought Shergar's run was significant, and that he was "a magnificent stamp of a horse", whose odds of 25–1 for the next year's Derby were worth considering.^[18]

1981: three-year-old season

In late 1980 and early 1981, Shergar filled out; by April he was stronger. Stoute had decided that Shergar should run in that year's Derby, and planned the season accordingly. The first race to prepare him was the Guardian Newspaper Classic Trial,^[19] run at Sandown on 25 April 1981, where he was ridden by Walter Swinburn. In a 9-horse, 1+1⁄4-mile (2.0 km) race, Shergar raised his pace after a mile and won by 10 lengths.^[20] Baerlein had written in his column before the race that at 25–1, the odds for Shergar to win the Derby were excellent. After the win, he noted them shortening to 8–1, where, "the bet is still worth pressing";^[21] he continued "If ... [Shergar] wins his next race at Chester or the Ladbroke Lingfield Trial as easily, he will be down to less than 4–1. Surely this is the time to bet like men."^[21]

As further training for the Derby, Stoute decided that Shergar needed practice on a left-hand cornered course; he selected Chester, where the Chester Vase was run on 5 May 1981.^[22] After keeping pace with the leaders, with half a mile to go, Swinburn urged Shergar to increase speed, and he did, overtaking the leaders and going clear to win by 12 lengths.^[23][24]

Shergar on his way to winning the 1981 Epsom Derby

On 3 June 1981 Shergar ran in the Derby. Set over a 1+1⁄2 mile (2.4 km) course at the Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey, the Derby is a Group 1 flat race open to three-year-old Thoroughbred colts and fillies.^[25] After the top of the uphill straight start of the course, Shergar was well-placed and moving through the other runners. At Tattenham Corner—the final bend of the course—Shergar took the front of the race and opened up a lead over the others.^[26][27] Commentating on the race, Peter Bromley informed listeners that "there's only one horse in it—you need a telescope to see the rest!"^[28] Swinburn eased off the pace with two furlongs to go, and won by ten lengths. It was the largest winning margin of any Epsom Derby.^[26][27] John Matthias, the jockey of the second-placed horse Glint of Gold, said that "I thought I'd achieved my life's ambition. Only then did I discover there was another horse on the horizon."^[29] In the light of Shergar's run of wins, particularly the Derby, Baerlein wrote that the horse was one of the finest he had seen.^[30]

While out on the gallops on 15 June, Shergar threw his rider, ran through a hedge onto the road and trotted along to the local village. He was spotted by a local resident, who followed the horse until it stopped to graze on a hedge, and then led him back to the stables. Shergar was unharmed during the event, and Stoute recalled "it's very lucky nothing happened to him; there's a crossing there, and it's a difficult thing".^[31][32]

By the time the Irish Derby was run at the Curragh, on 27 June 1981, Swinburn was suspended following an infringement at Royal Ascot, so Piggott returned to ride Shergar.^[33] At the half-way point in the race, Shergar was in third place, but increased his pace to take the lead with three furlongs to go. He slowed during the last furlong, and won by four lengths.^[31][34] As the horse approached the line, Michael O'Hehir, the commentator, informed viewers that "He's winning it so easily; it's Shergar first and the rest are nowhere".^[35] After the race Piggott told reporters that he had no doubt that Shergar would win as the horse never struggled in the race.^[36] He also said that Shergar was one of the best horses he had ever raced on.^[37]

Shergar's owner, the Aga Khan in 2014

Following Shergar's Epsom Derby win, a group of US horse owners had offered $40 million to syndicate the horse. The Aga Khan turned down the offer, and instead decided to syndicate Shergar for £10 million at £250,000 for each of the forty shares—a record price at the time; the Aga Khan kept six shares for himself and the others were sold individually to buyers from nine countries. The shareholders had the option each year of selecting a mare to be covered—or of selling that option on. The stud fees were £60,000–80,000 per cover, which meant that shareholders could expect to make a profit from stud within four years.^[38][39]

Shergar had a break of almost a month until he ran in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot on 25 July 1981. The race was slow-paced to start and Shergar was boxed in by other horses, but found a way out by the time the leaders had reached the final straight, and accelerated to win by four lengths.^[40][41] For Baerlein, the race showed that Shergar was the best horse he had ever seen race;^[40] Michael Phillips, the racing correspondent for The Times, wrote that the win "proved that Shergar is a cut above the average but not exceptional". Phillips continued that Shergar "failed to fill me, and many more besides, with the magic that was in the air after Nijinsky and Mill Reef had won the same race".^[41]

The Aga Khan and Stoute considered entering Shergar into the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe that autumn, but decided that he needed one more race to prepare. They entered him into what would be his final race, the St Leger Stakes at Doncaster on 12 September 1981, with Swinburn as the jockey.^[32] Ten days before the race, a story was published in the racing newspaper Sporting Life that Shergar had not been practising well and had become "mulish"; Stoute stated that the rumours were untrue.^[42] Shergar was running well in the race, although the soft ground was not to his liking, but on the final straight, when Swinburn tried to get him to accelerate to the front, the horse would not respond. Shergar came in fourth, 11+1⁄2 lengths behind Cut Above, the winner.^[43]

Surprised by the manner of the loss, Stoute and the Aga Khan ran a series of tests on Shergar. All showed the horse was in good health, and he worked well in training after the race. Unwilling to risk the horse without knowing what had happened at the St Leger, the Aga Khan did not enter him into the Arc, and instead retired him to the Ballymany Stud, near the Curragh.^[44] He later explained to a racing journalist:

He was just an exceptional athlete. All through the spring and summer he completely dominated European racing in a very dramatic manner, and after he had run so uncharacteristically in the St. Leger, we knew something had gone wrong, but we didn't know what it was, so it was an easy decision to retire him before the Arc.^[44]

Theft

Ballymany Stud

Ballymany Stud, County Kildare, from where Shergar was stolen

On 8 February 1983, at around 8:30 pm, three men—all armed and wearing masks—entered the house of Jim Fitzgerald, the head groom at Ballymany. They were part of a group of at least six,^[53] and possibly up to nine men.^[54] One of the men said to him "We have come for Shergar. We want £2 million for him."^[52] Fitzgerald said the men were not rough, although one of them who carried a pistol was very aggressive.^[52][55] Fitzgerald's family were locked into a room while he was taken, at gunpoint, out to Shergar's stable and was told to put the horse in the back of a horsebox.^[56]

After the horsebox was driven away Fitzgerald was told to lie on the floor of a van, and his face was covered with a coat. He was driven around for four hours before being released near the village of Kilcock, approximately 20 miles (32 km) from Ballymany. He was told not to contact the Garda Síochána (Gardaí)—the Irish police—or he and his family would be killed, but to wait for the gang to contact him. He was given the code phrase "King Neptune", which the gang would use to identify themselves. The men did not say that they were from the IRA, or give any other indication as to who they were,^[57][58][59] although one of the men spoke with a Northern Irish accent, and another seemed to be experienced with horses.^[60][61]

Fitzgerald walked on to the next village and called his brother to pick him up. On arrival back at Ballymany, he rang Ghislain Drion to inform him of the theft, and urged him not to call the police because of the threats that had been made. Drion attempted to reach the Aga Khan in Switzerland to inform him, then rang Stan Cosgrove, Shergar's vet, who was also a shareholder. Cosgrove contacted a retired Irish Army captain, Sean Berry, who was manager of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association. Berry contacted Alan Dukes, a friend of his who was the serving Minister for Finance, who suggested that Berry speak to Michael Noonan, the Minister for Justice. Noonan and Dukes told him to call the Gardaí. By 4:00 am Drion had managed to contact the Aga Khan, who told him to phone the Gardaí straight away. The force were then contacted, but it was eight hours after Shergar had been stolen and any possible trail had already gone cold.^[62][63]

The Aga Khan had several reasons for non-payment of the ransom, including that he was only one of 35 members, and could not negotiate or pay on behalf of the others. He was unsure whether Shergar would be returned even if the money was paid, and concerned that, if the kidnappers' demands were met, it would make every high-value horse in Ireland a target for future thefts.^[64] The shareholders were divided on the approach. Brian Sweeney, a veteran of the American horseracing industry thought that "if you ask a mother who has had a child that has been kidnapped if a ransom should be paid, I think the answer would be 'yes, and quickly' "; another shareholder, Lord Derby, disagreed and said "if ransom money is paid for this horse, then there is a danger of other horses being kidnapped in the years to come—and that simply cannot be tolerated".^[65]

First approach by the thieves

The sports commentator Derek Thompson, who became involved in the negotiations for Shergar

The first phone call from the thieves was on the night Shergar was stolen;^{[lower-alpha 2]} Fitzgerald was not back at Ballymany by that time, and had not had the chance to tell the news of the theft to anyone. The call was to Jeremy Maxwell, a horse trainer based in Northern Ireland. The caller demanded £40,000, although this figure was later raised to £52,000. Maxwell was told that the negotiations would only be with three British horse racing journalists, Derek Thompson and John Oaksey of ITV and Peter Campling from The Sun.^[68][69] The men were told to be at the Europa Hotel in central Belfast by the Thursday evening;^[70] the Europa was known as the most bombed hotel in Europe after having suffered multiple bomb attacks during the Troubles.^[71]

When the three sports journalists arrived at the Europa, they were contacted by phone and told to go to the Maxwells' house to await further calls. On orders from the police, Thompson kept the person talking for as long as possible, but the caller rang off at 80 seconds—before the call could be traced. There were a series of calls to the Maxwells' house later that night, and at 1:30 am Thompson managed to keep the caller talking for over 90 seconds, which would have been enough to trace the call; he was told that the person who was doing the call intercepts had finished his shift at midnight and gone home.^[66] At 7:00 am on 12 February another call was put through to the Maxwells' house, which said that things had gone wrong, and that Shergar was dead.^[29][72]

Although a committee put together by the syndicate to co-ordinate their response later considered that this was a hoax, Toby argues that as the call about the theft preceded Fitzgerald's return to Ballymany—i.e. before anyone knew about the theft—and as the callers used the code phrase "King Neptune" in their communications, it is more likely that the calls, and the ensuing focus on the high-profile activity in Belfast, were undertaken to distract the authorities from what was happening with Shergar elsewhere.^[72]

Second approach by the thieves

On 9 February the thieves opened a second line of negotiation, contacting Ballymany Stud directly and speaking to Drion. The call, which came in at 4:05 pm, was short. Drion was not a fluent speaker of English and struggled to understand the Irish accent of the caller; the caller similarly had problems with Drion's heavy French pronunciation. Ninety minutes later, the caller tried again, with Drion asking him to speak slowly. A demand of £2 million was made for the return of Shergar, and for a contact number in France, through which further negotiations could be made. Drion provided the number of the Aga Khan's French office.^[73][74][75]

Probably one of the photographs sent by the thieves during the negotiations, as proof that Shergar was still alive^{[76][lower-alpha 3]}

The syndicate which owned Shergar brought in the risk and strategic consulting firm Control Risks to handle the negotiations.^[78] They negotiated from the Paris office, with a series of telephone calls over four days.^[79] On Friday 11 February the negotiators demanded proof that Shergar was still alive, as there had been some speculation in the press that Shergar was dead. The thieves said that a representative of the syndicate should go to the Crofton Hotel in Dublin and ask for any messages for "Johnny Logan"—the name of an Irish singer. Stan Cosgrove went to the hotel and asked for any messages. Armed members of the Special Detective Unit—the domestic security agency of the Gardaí—were present in an undercover role. No message was delivered, and Cosgrove returned home after waiting. Shortly afterwards the negotiators received a phone call from the thieves, angry at the presence of the police, and threatening that if any members of the gang were captured or killed, the negotiators and police would be murdered in retribution.^[80][81][82]

On Saturday 12 February the thieves contacted the negotiators and said that proof had been left at the Rosnaree Hotel. When this was picked up, it contained several polaroid pictures showing Shergar; some of the pictures showed the horse's head next to a copy of The Irish News, dated 11 February.^[83][82] Cosgrove saw the photograph and confirmed that "it definitely was him",^[84] although he added "It wasn't proof that the horse was alive ... at that point ... you'd want to get much more definite evidence ... if you'd have seen the complete horse it would have been different, but this was just the head."^[85]

In a telephone call from the thieves to the negotiators at 10:40 pm on 12 February, it was explained that the syndicate were not satisfied with the pictures of the horse, which, they explained, did not constitute enough proof. The caller told the negotiators "If you're not satisfied, that's it".^[86] The call was ended, and the thieves never made any further contact. The syndicate attempted to re-establish contact with the gang, but there was no response to newspaper requests to do so.^[87][86]

Police investigation

The initial police investigation was hindered by the eight-hour lapse before the crime was reported, and by a local Thoroughbred auction, which meant several horseboxes were travelling in the area.^[52][91] Leading the investigation was Chief Superintendent James Murphy, a highly experienced detective.^[92] In his first press conference Murphy described how he was "slightly concerned" about the theft, and told reporters that "I have no leads".^[93] His comment about a lack of leads was not truthful, as Murphy withheld much information from the media,^[83] including the police finding the magazine for a Steyr MPi 69 submachine gun, which suggested a link to an IRA active service unit in South Armagh.^[94]

Murphy had a strong Irish brogue, wore a trilby hat and had a self-effacing sense of humour. At one press conference, he announced "A clue? That is something we haven't got".^[52][95] Several people claiming to have paranormal powers contacted the Gardaí with their thoughts; Murphy reported that "diviners, clairvoyants and psychic persons—they're in three different categories—they must be running into the fifties now".^[96] During one press conference, six photographers turned up wearing similar trilbies to the policeman; The Times called him a "stage Irishman".^[92] One reviewer of a documentary in 2004 called Murphy "the most richly comic copper since Inspector Clouseau".^[97] After eight days with no progress, he was replaced as the public figure of the investigation, but continued to lead it.^[92]

On 16 February a description of the horsebox used by the thieves—from a description given by Fitzgerald—was released. It was either light green or light blue with no working lights and no licence plates. The huge police search of possible hiding places for Shergar—by the Gardaí in the Irish Republic and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in Northern Ireland—found no trace of the horse or horsebox, but several IRA caches of arms and explosives were uncovered, leading to the loss of several safe houses.^[98] Up to 70 detectives were working on the case at one point.^[99] Two weeks after Shergar was stolen, the police search was scaled down, although the investigation continued.^[100]

Speculation and hoaxes

With no definite news of Shergar's whereabouts, and with the Gardaí limiting the information they released to the press, the media took to speculation to cover the story. Baerlein observes that in reporting the Shergar case, "the press speculation was remarkable for its enthusiasm and its inaccuracy over a long period of time".^[101] Such media claims included that Shergar had been stolen by Colonel Gaddafi as part of a deal to supply arms to the IRA;^[52] that, according to the tabloid newspaper Sunday Sport, Shergar was spotted being ridden by the missing Lord Lucan;^[102] that a Middle Eastern horse breeder had stolen him for stud;^[103] and that the Mafia had undertaken the act to punish the Aga Khan over a previous sale of a horse which had gone badly.^[104]

Eight weeks after Shergar was stolen, Stan Cosgrove was approached by senior detectives within the Gardaí who introduced him to Dennis Minogue, a horse trainer. Minogue claimed to have a contact within the IRA who had shown him a photograph of Shergar, and that he could help get Shergar released for a ransom of IR£80,000. The Gardaí asked Cosgrove to assist them in a sting operation to lure the thieves out. Cosgrove agreed, and on 20 July 1983 Detective Garda Martin Kenirons assisted the operation. He put the money in the boot of his car in a remote village, which Minogue was to collect once the horse had been released. The following day Kenirons found the boot of his car forced open and the money missing. Minogue had also disappeared, and the money was never recovered.^[105][106]

A subsequent internal Gardaí enquiry dismissed Kenirons from the force for breaching Gardaí regulations.^[107] In an interview in 2018 he reiterated his long-stated innocence and said "when it all went wrong, everyone jumped for the high ground. They [the senior Gardaí officers] all denied that they had anything to do with the ransom."^[108]

Insurance

Shergar was insured through several insurance companies. The Lloyd's of London insurance brokers Hodgson McCreedy covered £3,625,000 of the total, and added a theft clause to the policy. Other shareholders—accountable for £1.5 million worth of shares—had insurance that did not include a theft clause; Cosgrove was one of the mortality-only insured members. Shareholders accounting for £3 million did not take out insurance; the Aga Khan was one of the uninsured members of the syndicate.^[109] Cosgrove was insured with Norwich Union (now part of Aviva), who refused to pay, even when it became clear that Shergar was probably dead; the company's liability was £144,000.^[110][111]

The 20 policies that included a theft clause were all settled in full in June 1983, even though there was a question of whether there was a need to. Terry Hall, an animal insurance insurer with Lloyd's of London, observes that while theft was clear cut, the demand of a ransom meant that the action was considered extortion, rather than theft, which meant the mortality and theft policies did not have to be paid out. Legal advice was sought by Lloyd's of London, who were told that although it was a grey area, payment was advised.^[112]

Notes

References

Sources