Shergar 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". The first phone call from the thieves was on the night Shergar was stolen; 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
Solinus (horse) Solinus (horse) Solinus (foaled 18 February 1975) was a British-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A specialist sprinter, he won eight races over five and six furlongs in a ten race career which lasted from June 1977 until October 1978. As a two-year-old, he won three of his four races, including the Coventry Stakes in England and the Anglesey Stakes in Ireland. In the following year, he was the dominant sprinter in the British Isles, winning the Ballyogan Stakes, King's Stand Stakes, July Cup, and William Hill Sprint Championship. He was then retired to stud but died a year later.