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
General Stud Book in 1793 to the first volume of the "General Stud Book" which had many more pedigrees and was more accurate. Volume one was revised many times, the most important being in 1803, 1808, 1827, 1859 and 1891. The General Stud Book has been owned by Weatherbys ever since; the two horse racing authorities that cover the United Kingdom, the British Horseracing Authority in Great Britain (historically the Jockey Club) and Horse Racing Ireland for all of the island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland, do not maintain the registry. This differs from the American Stud Book which is owned by the