Because our family was living outside the US at the time of this kidnapping of Shergar, I was interested in learning about how a champion racehorse could be stolen and never seen again. But, unfortunately, where we were, on the other side of the world, there was no mention of this enormous crime. While this author described Shergar’s prowess on the racetrack, his writing style was sublime.

Shergar was the pride of the Irish. He was referred to as “Ireland’s Pegasus.” Shergar was named European Horse of the Year in 1981. He’d won many races and was now a stud to produce more winners. Then, on the 8th of February, 1983, six men assaulted the Fitzgerald family, took the father (James Fitzgerald), and forced him to load Shergar into a heavy horse trailer. Then, they took James with them for a multi-hour drive. At the end of the time, they dumped the confused groom on the side of the road and left. It took hours to find his way back to civilization.

The author stops the narration and discusses the “Troubles” between Northern Ireland, Great Britain, and the Republic of Ireland. A large swath of land corner remained with the British, while the rest was a Republic. Since 1969, there has been an IRA, Irish Republican Army. Eventually, the IRA split into two groups. The “Officials,” based in Dublin, looked for peaceful means to resolve their conflict, while the “Provisionals,” found in Belfast, were willing to do anything to get their way.

In 1983, at the time of the heist, the IRA and the British were still fighting. Now let’s shift to an interesting character. Aga Khan IV, a British subject and spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, owned the Ballymany Stud Facility and had a very successful operation. After Shergar finished his racing days, Aga Khan sold thirty-four shares in the horse and kept six shares. That created Shergar’s value to be ten million British pounds. Interestingly, each of the “owners” bought his individual insurance policy on the horse — which would lead to later problems.

 The author does a great job wading through the rumors, books, articles, and stories about this awful case. Then, he perforates the tales with entertaining facts. However, he leaves the reader to decide. The author mentions that the British government releases classified documents about recent past events every few years. Shergar was such a lightening-rod for trouble that the British may have found out what happened and didn’t release it because of the harm it would cause in Ireland and England.

This is a riveting and complex story with many variables. This is a mystery with an impossible number of possible miscreants and motives. Fascinating reading. 4.5 stars