It was a cold and foggy February night in 1983 when a group of armed
thieves crept onto Ballymany Stud, near The Curragh in County Kildare,
Ireland, to steal Shergar, one of the Thoroughbred industry's most
renowned stallions. Bred and raced by the Aga Khan IV and trained in
England by Sir Michael Stoute, Shergar achieved international prominence
in 1981 when he won the 202nd Epsom Derby by ten lengths -- the longest
winning margin in the race's history. The thieves demanded a hefty
ransom for the safe return of one of the most valuable Thoroughbreds in
the world, but the ransom was never paid and Shergar's remains have
never been found.
In Taking Shergar: Thoroughbred Racing's Most Famous Cold Case, Milton
C. Toby presents an engaging narrative that is as thrilling as any
mystery novel. The book provides new analysis of the body of evidence
related to the stallion's disappearance, delves into the conspiracy
theories that surround the inconclusive investigation, and presents a
profile of the man who might be the last person able to help solve part
of the mystery.
Toby examines the extensive cast of suspects and their alleged motives,
including the Irish Republican Army and their need for new weapons, a
French bloodstock agent who died in Central Kentucky, and even the
Libyan dictator, Muammar al-Qadhafi. This riveting account of the most
notorious unsolved crime in the history of horse racing will captivate
serious racing fans and aficionados as well as entertain a new
generation of horse racing enthusiasts.
