Shergar Shergar 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
Horse racing in Ireland establishment in 1682 of a race by Lord Kildare, with a plate of 40 pounds to the winner. In a correspondence to King Charles II in 1673, Sir William Temple stated "Horses in Ireland are a drug... we see horses bred of excellent shape, and vigour, and size, so as to reach great prices at home, and encourage strangers to find the market here." Racing became more competitive with the introduction, in 1666, under King Charles II, of the King's Plate Races, designed so as to favour a fast yet strong horse, capable of winning a 4-mile race with a