On this day – February 8th

Shergar is kidnapped

The enduring mystery of the disappearance of "Shergar the Wonder Horse" has elements of the thriller, the farce, and the tragedy about it.

Shergar was bred in Ireland by the Aga Khan. The horse's early career was more than impressive: winning the Guardian Classic Trial on his debut by ten lengths; then taking the Chester Vase by 12 lengths. In the Derby the horse ridden by 19-year-old Walter Swinburn won by ten lengths again, the greatest winning margin in the history of the event, and so far ahead that legend has it the second-placed jockey thought his horse had won.

Put to stud in Ireland at the Aga Khan's Ballymany Stud, Shergar's second career was equally impressive, siring 35 foals in his first and only season, although only one went on to significant success. The horse had been sold to a syndicate, with 40 shares, six of them retained by his original owner. The stud fee charged was between £50,000 and £80,000 per mare.

In the evening of February 8th the horse was dramatically snatched from the stud farm by a gang of at least six men in balaclavas, armed with pistols and sub-machine guns. The gang had timed the crime well, major horse sales that day meaning horse-boxes were everywhere

The owning syndicate negotiated with the kidnappers to win time, but never intended to accede to demands for fear of making horse-napping an attractive new venture for criminals. It is believed the horse was probably shot, panicking and uncontrollable soon after being taken.

Today's question is – in which year was Shergar 'horse-napped'?

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