News: ‘Whodunnit? Sport’s greatest unsolved kidnapping 30 years on’

That’s the headline from a CNN story about Shergar, the valuable Irish racehorse who–30 years ago this week–was abducted, never to be seen again.

Top photo: Shergar wining the Derby at Epsom by 10 lengths in June 1981. (Source: rte.ie)

Reads the story, “The retired champion race horse, owned by billionaire businessman the Aga Khan, was worth a staggering £10 million ($16 million) — around £28 million ($44 million) by today’s standards. Were Shergar here today, he would be the ninth-most valuable athlete in the world, just ahead of Real Madrid’s prized footballer Cristiano Ronaldo on $42.5 million.”

Shergar was also the pride of a country ravaged with violence between nationalists and unionists in the north competing for political power.

After stealing the horse from the Ballymany Stud in the Republic of Ireland, Shergar’s abductors demanded a $2 million ransom for the horse’s return. A negotiation was unable to be reached, and the last time they were heard from, the abductors claimed the horse was dead.

Many believe that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was responsible, although they have never officially been charged.

Shergar’s disappearance had a profound effect on racetrack security and his story was the subject of a feature film. (Horse Nation film critic Amanda Ronan penned a review of it here.)

Read the full CNN story here.

The BBC also published a great story today on the subject here, as did The Telegraph here.

A big thanks to Bernadette Kilcer for sending us the link.

Intrigued? Check out this fascinating 50-minute documentary, “Who Kidnapped Shergar?”

[ReveryStables]

Go Shergar.