It is a testimony to the Irish love of the race course that the word kidnapping in Ireland has become synonymous with the name of a thoroughbred horse called Shergar.
While other kidnap victims such as Brian Keenan and Ben Dunne both lived to tell their tales, it is the story of Shergar that still resonates 20 years after the event – even though he died.
On February 8 1983 an armed gang forced their way into the Ballymany Stud in Co Kildare close to the Curragh.
Their target was a racehorse, which two years earlier entered the record books when it won the Epsom Derby by 10 lengths, the biggest winning margin in the history of the race.
Shergar went on to win a further six races, including the Irish Sweeps Derby at the Curragh and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. By the time he was retired he had won £436,000 in prize money for his billionaire owner, the Aga Khan.
Prince Karim Aga Khan IV was the spiritual leader of millions of Ismaili Muslims, based mostly in Pakistan and east Africa. He also owned properties and business interests worth an estimated £2 billion, as well as a bloodstock empire of about 500 horses.
The family interest in horse racing began with his grandfather and by 1983 the Aga Khan owned four stud farms in Ireland – at Gilltown, Sallymount, Sheshoon and Ballymany.
Despite winning nearly half a million pounds in prize money, Shergar's real value was as a sire and although the Aga Khan retained an interest in the horse, 40 shares were sold to a syndicate for £10 million.
The syndicate was able to charge a stud fee of £50,000 for Shergar and if his offspring did well on the track that fee would have doubled.
But, despite the thoroughbred's value, the Ballymany Stud was poorly protected and the kidnap gang had little difficulty in gaining access. At gunpoint they forced James Fitzgerald, the head groom, to identify Shergar and load him into a horse box.
Mr Fitzgerald was driven off with the horse and released four hours later on the Naas dual carriageway with a ransom note demanding £2 million for the safe return of the horse.
Leading the investigation into the kidnapping was trilby-wearing Chief Superintendent Jim 'Spud' Murphy, who became a media hero. His detection techniques were unconventional and a variety of clairvoyants, psychics and diviners were called out to help.
During one interview Mr Murphy told reporters: "A clue... that is what we haven't got."
Despite numerous reported sightings and rumours of secret negotiations in the days following the kidnap there was little new information and a news hungry press pack began to focus their attention on Mr Murphy.
During one press conference six photographers turned up wearing trilbies, identical to the police chief, after which Mr Murphy was given a much lower public profile.
There were numerous 'sightings' of Shergar throughout Ireland and further afield, including one report that the north African dictator Colonel Gaddafi had been spotted riding Shergar in the Libyan desert.
This rumour had its roots in a news wire report, which stated that Shergar had been 'found' in Libya – unfortunately, the telex operator later admitted that he had accidentally left out the key word 'not'.
Another story claimed that a polaroid photograph of the missing horse had been sent to Johnny Logan, the Irish winner of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Despite all the hype it is now believed that there were genuine negotiations with the kidnappers and that a polaroid photograph showing Shergar with a carrot and an up-to-date copy of the Irish Times was sent to prove that the animal was still alive.
But four days after seizing the horse the kidnappers broke off communications and the trail went cold. It is believed the kidnappers may have thought that the Aga Khan was Shergar's sole owner and were not aware that the horse was owned by a syndicate, making negotiations much more difficult.
In addition the kidnappers may not have bargained for the highly-strung temperament of a thoroughbred race horse and had been unable to control the animal.
Although no-one has ever admitted responsibility for the kidnapping, IRA informer Sean O'Callaghan claimed in his autobiography that republicans were responsible.
He claimed that the IRA gang had been unable to handle Shergar and that the £10 million thoroughbred was shot.
"The horse threw himself into a frenzy in the horsebox, damaging a leg and proving impossible for the team to control," O'Callaghan wrote.
"He was killed within days even though the IRA kept up the pretence that he was alive and demanded a £5 million pound (sic) ransom for his safe return."
As the chances of finding Shergar alive diminished, the focus moved more and more to what had happened to the horse's body.
Some people claimed that the £10 million thoroughbred had been sold to a knackers yard as dog meat, but even in death mystery surrounded his whereabouts.
Several years ago a horse's skull containing two bullet holes was found wrapped in a cloth and many believed that it may have been Shergar, but forensic tests found that the skull belonged to a much younger animal.
In a recent interview, Walter Swinburn – who rode Shergar to victory in the 1983 Derby – said he was still as much remembered for his association with the missing thoroughbred as for his own achievements.
"To this day I am probably more remembered for riding Shergar than anything else," he said.
"If I go back to Ireland there is hardly a week goes by without someone asking me about him."
