Taking Shergar

Thoroughbred Racing's Most Famous Cold Case

Milton C. Toby

Narrated by Robert Ferraro

Available from Audible

Book published by University Press of Kentucky

It was a cold and foggy February night in 1983 when a group of armed thieves crept onto Ballymany Stud, near The Curragh in County Kildare, Ireland, to steal Shergar, one of the Thoroughbred industry’s most renowned stallions. Bred and raced by the Aga Khan IV and trained in England by Sir Michael Stoute, Shergar achieved international prominence in 1981 when he won the 202nd Epsom Derby by ten lengths—the longest winning margin in the race’s history. The thieves demanded a hefty ransom for the safe return of one of the most valuable Thoroughbreds in the world, but the ransom was never paid and Shergar’s remains have never been found.

In Taking Shergar: Thoroughbred Racing’s Most Famous Cold Case, Milton C. Toby presents an engaging narrative that is as thrilling as any mystery novel. The book provides new analysis of the body of evidence related to the stallion’s disappearance, delves into the conspiracy theories that surround the inconclusive investigation, and presents a profile of the man who might be the last person able to help solve part of the mystery.

Toby examines the extensive cast of suspects and their alleged motives, including the Irish Republican Army and their need for new weapons, a French bloodstock agent who died in Central Kentucky, and even the Libyan dictator, Muammar al-Qadhafi. This riveting account of the most notorious unsolved crime in the history of horse racing will captivate serious racing fans and aficionados as well as entertain a new generation of horse racing enthusiasts.

Milton C. Toby is an award-winning author, journalist, and attorney with more than forty years of experience researching and writing about Thoroughbred racing and equine law. He is the author of eight books, including Dancer’s Image: The Forgotten Story of the 1968 Kentucky Derby and Noor: A Champion Thoroughbred’s Unlikely Journey from California to Kentucky.

REVIEWS:

“With an eye for detail, Toby presents the definitive account of Shergar’s theft, written now with the benefit of distance and with access to previously unpublished material. These include a report that was previously only available to shareholders in the stallion. In the course of his writing Toby is able to dismiss a number of conspiracy theories surrounding the taking of Shergar, while also putting under the microscope much of the circumstantial evidence that has tied the involvement of the IRA with the crime. This is a book that will enthrall anyone who ever followed the story of Shergar and his abduction, and will introduce a whole new generation to a mystery that, sadly, may never be fully solved.”

—The Irish Field

“Toby’s true mystery novel has everything to offer to every level of reader and horse fancier. Loaded with history, suspense, grand theft, mystery, conspiracy, murder, and twisting side stories bound to captivate even the shortest of attention spans. Taking Shergar paints a very true, yet murky and dark picture of where sometimes-spectacular pageantry crosses path with political putridness, a plot line that seemingly repeats itself over and over in our world’s history.”

—(Corbin) News Journal

“Taking Shergar is a fascinating read for anyone who loves a mystery, loves history, and loves racing. It’s a story steeped in tragedy, but an important look at a troubling time and a great mystery in racing history. ”

—Horse Nation

“Diligently researched, and written with the rhythm of a good mystery novel, Taking Shergar takes readers to the 1980s boom times of the international Thoroughbred industry. By introducing his audience to a colorful cast of historical figures, and shedding light on a truly remarkable incident, Toby has made an important contribution to horseracing’s historical tapestry.”

—James C. Nicholson, author of The Kentucky Derby: How the Run for the Roses Became America’s Premier Sporting Event

“Relentlessly and meticulously researched by an award-winning master of his craft, Taking Shergar is a tour de force of investigative reporting and a hard-to-put-down account of the day the world of Thoroughbred racing stopped in its tracks. ”

—Mary Simon, three-time recipient of the Eclipse Award

“The exhaustive exercise Toby undertook and describes in Taking Shergar delves into many layers of intrigue, possibility, and probability. Shergar’s story hinges on so many disparate factors—the Irish Republican Army’s appetite for violence, the Aga Khan IV’s position as the breeder and original owner of the Epsom Derby winner, questionable police work, seers’ attempts to locate the horse, and the profit-making instincts of the insurance industry—which are addressed in voluminous but colorful detail.”

—Edward L. Bowen, former editor-in-chief of The Blood-Horse and author of twenty books on Thoroughbred racing