Shergar (3 March 1978 – c. February 1983) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After a very successful season in 1981 he was retired to the Ballymany Stud in County Kildare, Ireland. In 1983 he was stolen from the stud, and a ransom of £2 million was demanded; it was not paid, and negotiations were soon broken off by the thieves. In 1999 a supergrass, formerly in the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), stated they stole the horse. The IRA has never admitted any role in the theft.
The Aga Khan, Shergar's owner, sent the horse for training in Britain in 1979 and 1980. Shergar began his first season of racing in September 1980 and ran two races that year, where he won one and came second in the other. In 1981 he ran in six races, winning five of them. In June that year he won the 202nd Epsom Derby by ten lengths—the longest winning margin in the race's history. Three weeks later he won the Irish Sweeps Derby by four lengths; a month after that he won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes by four lengths. In his final race of the year he came in fourth, and the Aga Khan decided to retire him to stud in Ireland.
After Shergar's Epsom Derby win, the Aga Khan sold 40 shares in the horse, valuing it at £10 million. Retaining six shares, he created an owners' syndicate with the remaining 34 members. Shergar was stolen from the Aga Khan's stud farm by an armed gang on 8 February 1983. Negotiations were conducted with the thieves, but the gang broke off all communication after four days when the syndicate did not accept as true the proof provided that the horse was still alive. In 1999 Sean O'Callaghan, a former member of the IRA, published details of the theft and stated that it was an IRA operation to raise money for arms. He said that very soon after the theft, Shergar had panicked and damaged his leg, which led to him being killed by the gang. An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph concluded that the horse was shot four days after the theft. No arrests have ever been made in relation to the theft. Shergar's body has never been recovered or identified; it is likely that the body was buried near Aughnasheelin, near Ballinamore, County Leitrim.
In honour of Shergar, the Shergar Cup was inaugurated in 1999. His story has been made into two screen dramatisations, several books and two documentaries.
Shergar (3 March 1978 – c. February 1983) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After a very successful season in 1981 he was retired...
The Shergar Cup is an annual horse racing event held at Ascot Racecourse, usually during early August. The race is named in honour of Shergar, the horse...
flat season in style. The Shergar Cup is an annual event, taking place in August, at Ascot since 2000. Named in honour of Shergar, who won the 1981 Epsom...
at Kempton Park but gained considerable fame for riding the superstar Shergar to victory in The Derby in 1981 by a record 10 lengths. Swinburn went on...
Triple Crown of Hurdling, in the 1989/90 racing season. Stoute also trained Shergar, arguably his most famous horse, who won the 1981 Epsom Derby and was later...
Valiant Stakes. Osborne was a member of the winning "Girls" team in the 2023 Shergar Cup, the first time she had participated in the event. After three months...
Fifty, Shades and television film Shergar, about the kidnapping of Epsom Derby-winning thoroughbred racehorse Shergar. Rourke has expressed his bitterness...
Lips Against the Steel. Knopfler scored the soundtracks for the films Shergar (1984) and Laser Mission (1989), and the German productions Treffer (1984)...
original on 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2009-01-19. Baerlein, Richard (1984). Shergar : and the Aga Khan's thoroughbred empire. London: Michael Joseph Ltd. pp...
Infidelity/Hard Fall (1997) ... Shane Business for Pleasure (1997) ... Rolf Shergar (1999) ... SAS Soldier Dead Dogs Lie (2001) ... Duck Final Combat (2003)...
Saltwater (2000) Ray Badger (2000) Ralph Allen Ordinary Decent Criminal McHale Shergar (1999) Hennity Blessed Fruit (1999) Reckless: The Movie (1998) John McGinley...
broadcasting with At The Races. She regained her jockey's licence to ride in the Shergar Cup team event at Ascot in August 2016. In January 2017 she became part...
as a Ryder Cup steward. Shergar: The Final Word (HarperCollins, 2009) – the story of the kidnapping of the racehorse Shergar. Lawrence Donegan, The Guardian...
racehorse and sire. He was probably the best horse sired by the ill-fated Shergar, winning at the highest level in both Ireland and Australia. He was unraced...
Sham: The main competitor to Secretariat during the 1973 racing season Shergar: winner of the 1981 Epsom Derby by a record 10 lengths, the longest winning...
Epsom Derby and the 2016 Irish Derby. The Aga Khan was the lead owner of Shergar, the Irish racehorse that was kidnapped from Ballymany stud farm in County...
the World Man Architect Screen Two Damien / Inspector McBride Episodes "Shergar" / "Naming the Names" 1987 The Rockingham Shoot John Reilly television...
Epsom Downs Racecourse on 3 June 1981. The race was won by the Aga Khan's Shergar, at odds of 10/11 ridden by the nineteen-year-old jockey Walter Swinburn...
when Francis II (1718-1778) moved to their principality of Shergar to be the last Raja of Shergar. He was attacked by the troops of the Raja of Narwar in...
1997 A Further Gesture Liam 1997 The Boxer Eddie Carroll's cornerman 1999 Shergar Lynch 1999 Exiled Brendan 2000 Ordinary Decent Criminal Billy Lynch 2000...
Narrator (voice) 3 episodes 2017 Catastrophe Dan 2 episodes 2018 Psychic Shergar Television short film 2019 Star Wars Resistance General Armitage Hux (voice)...
fight were fixed. The theft and disappearance of the Irish-bred racehorse Shergar in 1983 has prompted many conspiracy theorists to speculate about involvement...
John Shecter, Olympic horse breeder and owner of triple cup champion Shergar was born here. Abed Abdi (born 1942), Arab Palestinian painter and sculptor...
– Radio Times – Screen Two: Blood Hunt BBC – Radio Times – Screen Two: Shergar BBC – Radio Times – Screen Two: Hard Travelling BBC – Radio Times – Screen...
Frank Warren Episode: "Fools Rush In" 1986 Screen Two Frankie Episode: "Shergar" 1987 Lost Belongings Lenny 2 episodes 1987 Scout Marshall TV film 1989...
24 May 2015. McTear, Ian (7 June 2018). "Who kidnapped the Derby-winner Shergar and why?". bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved 25 October 2020. Kerrigan, Gene (2005)...
skeleton were found just hours after the horse was discovered missing. Shergar was stolen for a £2 million ransom on 8 February 1983, allegedly by the...
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