Yes. He was buried near his sire, Bold Ruler, in a small graveyard behind the office at the farm. Now, however, an investigation by The Sunday Telegraph to mark the 25th anniversary of the horse's kidnapping finally solves the puzzle of Shergar's final hours, why his remains have never been found and how the Garda, the Irish police, bungled their investigation. WebShergar was stolen from the Aga Khan's stud farm by an armed gang on 8 February 1983. I hope one day we can get to the bottom of what happend. In 2004, he vowed never to talk about the incident again, but Alison managed to get him to speak to camera. And Walter was laughing. Native Dancer became so popular that his blood began to dominate the Thoroughbred breed. I could hardly see it for tears, Doreen Swinburn, Walters mother, remembers of her joy when we speak by telephone. The abduction sparked a massive hunt, but, according to a former IRA terrorist, Sean O'Callaghan, Shergar was killed within days. We want 2 million [ransom] for him," one said. There was no pressure. With an intense garda hunt taking place across the country and the ransom process now a shambles, a decision was made to end the operation. Those who looked after and rode Shergar agree that he was one of the kindest, gentlest racehorses ever to grace the racetrack. After driving him around for three hours, the kidnappers dumped Fitzgerald out of the car. Speculation is that they were unable to handle the stallion and shot him before he ran wild on them. Red Rum died on 18 October 1995, aged 30. Using coded phrases, the kidnappers soon began negotiations with a representative of the Aga Khan over the telephone but made sure to hang up before 90 seconds passed so that authorities couldnt track their location. A common belief is that Shergars remains are buried somewhere in that region of the country. Part of the mythology of Shergar is that he descended upon flat racing like a comet. And so, the greatest racehorse of the century was butchered in the same way that the IRA killed many of its human enemies. He said he had long suspected that the horse, in the hands of non-experts, had met a lingering death "crazed with pain". He had a lot of confidence in Shergar. In February 1983, Hes dead.. In an interview given to the Telegraph in 2008, a source claimed that Shergar was machine-gunned to death by the IRA. There was lots of cussin' and swearin' because the horse wouldn't die. Negotiations were conducted with the thieves, but the gang broke off all communication Years later, there were still whispers that Shergar was alive and secretly producing foals whose breeding lines could never be divulged. And when I was looking at this horse, I was thinking: why is there such silence and controversy? "I can still remember that night in that car with them lads. The organisation would never admit culpability but Sean OCallaghan, the IRA commander and police informer, in interviews named those he said carried out the act. He remains the only horse to ever win both races in the same season. As racing fans prepare for this year's running of the Derby this afternoon, the name of Shergar is still remembered because of its record 10-length win in the race in 1981. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. The search for the last resting place of Shergar It was the world's most famous racehorse when it was kidnapped by an armed IRA gang in 1983 and The thoroughbreds remains have never been found. But on that day in June 1981, the pair owned the day. It was a very bloody death." It couldnt have happened in a worse country in that we are the kingdom of the horse here, says racing historian Guy Williams. Remains were never found, and what happened to the horse has never been known. Negotiations with the kidnappers continued for four days and a Polaroid photograph was provided, showing Shergar and an up-to-date copy of the Irish Times before the kidnappers suddenly fell silent. We do not even know what kind of accents they spoke with.". She says: "Sean wrote letters from Maghaberry to Liam on a frequent basis, sometimes two a week, during the early-1990s. But detectives admitted they know nothing yet about the gang. A source told the paper: "Shergar was machine gunned to death. But detectives believe he is hidden away in an isolated spot. No horse has ever recorded a greater winning margin in the famous race. But it was a wonderful day and he rode a lovely competent race. Mr Cosgrove, in turn, rang his friend, former Army officer Captain Sean Berry. Thompson received a phone call the next day from the kidnappers - they said, "The horse has had an accident. I went around to all these places and people were truly kind in talking to me. It is then believed, and the claim is repeated in a documentary on BBC One in Northern Ireland on Thursday night, that the remains were buried in a bog. It was believed Shergar - valued at 10m - was taken by the IRA, which was short of money and looking for new sources of funding. He was caught five miles away by fireman Andy Sheldrick. A sign on a railing leading to the stud read: "Please close the gate.". It is also widely believed his kidnappers buried him in a bog in Co. Leitrim, though some think they dumped him into the sea of Irelands south coast. He's dead." One of the central figures in the documentary is former equine vet Stan Cosgrove, who was also a shareholder in Shergar. However, it is still possible to see, hundreds of feet below and stretching to the horizon, the most sparsely populated terrain in all of Ireland. In February 1983, at the height of The Troubles, Ireland faced a truly mysterious crime that remains virtually unsolved. Most domesticated horses in the world today are used to ride and to do farm or ranch work. Shergar was stolen from Ballymany Stud in Co Kildare on the night of February 9th, 1983. Thieves stole a life-size statue of the triple Grand National winner, Red Rum, from a house in East Meon, Hampshire. Shergar's former jockey Walter Swinburn was distressed by the paper's findings. The next day, another call came through with the following message: The horse has had an accident. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. Letters written by an IRA supergrass to the Belfast Telegraph's late political editor, Liam Clarke, proved pivotal in the making of a new BBC documentary on one of Ireland greatest kidnap mysteries. He knew that I was really just trying to tell the story, Alison Millar says of how she persuaded Stan Cosgrove to speak openly about a painful episode in his life. In the wake of the kidnapping, he was the victim of a scam in which the Garda appears not to have been blameless and which cost him many thousands of pounds. Shergar was hailed as the greatest racehorse of all time when he won the 1981 Epsom Derby. Thats it.. But he wanted his champion to stand at his Irish stud. The man leading the hunt said: "I do not believe any ransom will be paid, and police will block any attempt to pay one.". Stan Cosgrove, now 81, who spent more than 80,000 trying to get the horse back and, later, in trying to prove that Shergar was dead, has never received a penny. They demanded a 5m ransom from the syndicate owning the horse, which included the Aga Khan. Insurers refused to pay out without proof of the horse's death. No one has ever admitted responsibility for the incident, and the remains of the horse have never been found. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, The disappearance of champion racehorse Shergar remains a mystery, English jockey Walter Swinburn, 19, on Shergar in 1980, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). But Richard Baerlein, the canny racing correspondent, was so convinced after witnessing Shergar and Swinburn cruise to a 10-length victory at Sandown in April 1981 that he urged punters to get in while the going was good. Its impossible to buy. I found that really hard to understand. August 26, 1984. ", Michael Stoute, who trained the horse to win two Derbys, said: "He was the best I ever had.". He was born in Kildare in 1978 and kidnapped by an armed gang in 1983. It was several hours before the Garda were informed, but by then there were no clues. Millars research brought her to Leitrim and the wild landscape outside Ballinamore. He rang the stud manager, Ghislain Drion, who then phoned Shergar's vet, Stan Cosgrove, who had also bought a share in the horse. Its Shergar first . He was gelded at a young age, so he was never used for breeding. Thompson believed he kept the call going long enough to trace the location only to be told by police that the man who did their tracing had clocked off and headed home at midnight. Revered Irish racehorse Shergar was taken at gunpoint from Ballymany Stud in County Kildare on February 8, 1983, and never seen again. The other - "a very senior IRA man" - agreed to talk to her off the record. By then, a silence had begun about Shergar that would stretch for four decades. Family history, family mystery - where did my Irish great-grandfather end up? Forty years on, the taking of Shergar remains such a bizarre and shameful episode in Irish history that it only makes sense when set against the lush scenes and ecstatic cheering of his immortal season. Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, the IRA, and the US Mafia have all been suggested. Bank robberies, or hold-ups of cash in transit, was becoming more and more difficult and a new strategy needed to be found. From 31 crops to race, First Down Dash has sired 1,462 winners, which includes 258 stakes winners. And I wanted to capture this love story that Ireland had with this beautiful beast. He was out on the paddock with some bullocks. All of this was reported by an international media fascinated by the lead investigator, Superintendent Jim Murphy, a trilby-wearing veteran with a laconic and highly quotable manner: They must be running into the 50 now, he said drily of the clairvoyants and physics who offered leads and dreams. Alison stresses that the programme, which is screened next week on BBC One Northern Ireland, is a documentary, not an investigation, but it obviously required much research. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. And I want to say the police will block any attempt to pay any ransom.". I do. The Aga Khan was amazing. Two armed men forced their way into the house. What happened next is not for the fainthearted. 35 foals. The champion racehorse won the 1981 Derby by a record of 10 lengths. The events of February 1983 threatened that ecosystem. The body has never been found. A former IRA member told the Sunday Telegraph: "Shergar was machine-gunned to death. The incident has inspired several books, documentaries, and a film starring Mickey Rourke. WebShergar No one has ever admitted responsibility for the incident, and the remains of the horse have never been found. The man who made Shergar a superstar appealed to the kidnapperslast night: "For God's sake, don't harm him. Other members of the gang backed up a van. Aghrasheeling translates as "meadow of the fairies", but are people still spinning fairy stories? But Ballinamore has form. She says: "He would have been in the middle of it.". Owner the Aga Khan sold 34 shares in the horse at 250,000 each and kept another six for himself, valuing it at 10m.