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
The Great Match (horse race) Hall, first exhibited in Buchanan Street, Glasgow later that year, and John F. Herring, whose work became so famous there was scarcely a village in the British Empire without a copy. As for the horses, The Flying Dutchman was retired to stud after the race. Voltigeur, on the other hand, carried on racing. The very day after the match race, he went down to defeat in the Ainsty Hunt Cup, conceding 37 pounds to a classy filly named Nancy. The next season, when he was five, he won the race named in honour of his old rival, The Flying Dutchman