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
Horse racing in Ireland is intricately linked with Irish rural life and community. Horse breeding and training is a key economic player in regions of the country where there are few employment opportunities. Horse race attendance is a strong contributor to tourism, with approximately 80,000 people travelling to Ireland annually to attend racing events. Dennis Fitzpatrick was the first professional Irish jockey to race in England, particularly noted for taking part in match races towards the turn of the 19th century, beginning a long history of professional Irish jockeys in the United Kingdom. In Ireland it is not uncommon for jockeys to ride in