Word: shergar
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...Shergar is worth a fortune. In 1981, 35 investors put up $457,000 apiece for the horse, which was expected to earn $4 million or more a year in stud fees for 15 to 20 years. The thieves knew the breeding business. The four-month stud season begins this week; the first dozen of Shergar's 55 mates, each in season for a month, are already at Ballymany, ready and expensively waiting...
...just who has Shergar? There were several anonymous claimants. The first telephone caller the next morning demanded ?2 million, presumably Irish pounds ($2.76 million), and a later one just ?40,000 ($55,200). Other callers said Shergar was dead already, destroyed after an accidental eye injury. Inevitably, there was conjecture about Irish Republican Army involvement...
...criminals' intention was probably to offer the horse for ransom. Shergar would be practically impossible to sell. He would be hard enough to keep hidden. The Thoroughbred requires unusual amounts of exercise, since he has lately been on a special, high-energy diet in anticipation of four months of standing for a different brood mare every other day. Yet allowing him outdoors in the winter cold would be risky for the horse and horsenapers. His coat could be dyed: Shergar has white feet and a striking white blaze running the length of his face. But the stallion also...
...Shergar was bred, raised and raced by the Aga Khan, 46, who retains 15% ownership and owns the $2.3 million Ballymany stud farm as well. In a two-season European career beginning in 1980, Shergar won six of his eight races, including the Irish and English Derbies, by impressive margins. He was voted Europe's Racehorse of the Year in 1981. The Aga Khan reportedly turned down a $30 million purchase offer from an American for Shergar. The eventual $18.3 million price is the fourth highest in breeding history...
Because combining proven bloodlines is the point in breeding, buying shares in a superstar like Shergar is as close to a sure thing as there is in horse racing. According to one British breeder, the price of Shergar's stud service was $46,200 in advance plus $46,200 more after conception. Last year all but two of Shergar's mares were successfully impregnated...