The daughter of the late Aga Khan has revealed what she believes happened to Shergar, the legendary racehorse whose disappearance became one of the greatest mysteries in sporting history and captivated racing fans including Queen Elizabeth II.
Princess Zahra Aga Khan has spoken candidly about the 1983 kidnapping of the Derby winner, saying her family now believes the stallion was killed within days of being abducted.
Shergar was no ordinary racehorse. Widely regarded as one of the finest thoroughbreds ever to grace the turf, he won the Derby in spectacular fashion in 1981 – beating Elizabeth II’s horse into fifth place, before going on to become a hugely valuable breeding stallion.
His disappearance from Ballymany Stud in County Kildare on 8 February 1983 shocked the racing world and remains one of the most infamous unsolved mysteries connected to British and Irish racing.
The horse was owned by the Aga Khan, whose family has long enjoyed close links with the British Royal Family through racing, philanthropy and public life. Queen Elizabeth II was at Epsom in 1981 to see Shergar’s success in the Derby first hand during a golden era for the sport.
Speaking about the ordeal more than four decades later, Princess Zahra recalled the devastating impact it had on her father and their family.
“We now know the horse was killed within two days of being kidnapped,” she said, describing the circumstances as deeply upsetting.
Six armed and masked men reportedly arrived at the stud and took the stallion before demanding a ransom. The kidnappers sought millions of pounds for Shergar’s return, but negotiations became complicated because ownership of the horse was shared among a syndicate rather than resting solely with the Aga Khan.
Princess Zahra said her father believed paying the ransom would not guarantee Shergar’s safety and could potentially encourage further criminal activity.
She remembered the anguish of watching events unfold, describing how her father struggled with the uncertainty surrounding the horse’s fate.
Over the years, numerous theories have emerged about what happened to Shergar. The IRA has frequently been linked to the kidnapping, although no definitive evidence has ever been produced and the mystery has never been formally solved.
Despite decades of speculation, Princess Zahra’s comments provide one of the clearest insights yet into what the Aga Khan family believes occurred.
The princess also paid tribute to Shergar’s temperament, describing him as “the kindest horse in the world”.
His story continues to fascinate racing enthusiasts and royal watchers alike, not only because of his remarkable achievements on the track but because the mystery surrounding his disappearance has never been conclusively resolved.
More than 40 years on, Shergar remains a legendary figure in racing history – and one whose tragic fate continues to cast a shadow over one of the sport’s most extraordinary stories.
