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
Reference Point (horse) his career. Reference Point was voted 1987 British Horse of the Year by the Racecourse Association, attracting twelve of the twenty votes. Reference Point made little impact in four seasons at stud, with his only Group One winner being Ivyanna, who won the 1992 Oaks d'Italia. He died after fracturing a leg in an accident in December 1991 at the Dalham Hall Stud where he was buried. Reference Point (horse) Reference Point (26 February 1984– December 1991) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and sire. In a career which lasted from August 1986 to October 1987 he ran ten times