A sports commentator became an unlikely hostage negotiator after a 2 a.m. phone call.
asserted
commentator → become → call
Derek Thompson once stood in the winner's circle next to a champion racehorse named Shergar, owned by one of the richest royals in the world, who dominated on the tracks in the 1980s.
asserted
who → stand → 1980s
So when the call came in, Thompson flew from London to Belfast, Ireland, then traveled to a farmhouse 30 miles away.
asserted
Thompson → come → farmhouse
For 12 hours, he handled call after call from the kidnappers, thought to be members of the Irish Republican Army, or IRA.
asserted
he → handle → Army
Shergar's owner, the
, spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, also received ransom demands, ranging from 40,000 pounds to 2 million.
asserted
owner → receive → million
"'The horse has had an accident.
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horse → have → accident
And the phone went dead," Thompson recalled.
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Thompson → go → ?
"That's the last we heard."
asserted
we → hear → ?
More than 40 years later, the mystery of Shergar's kidnapping remains unsolved.
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mystery → remain → kidnapping
As someone who's seen a lot of thoroughbred racing, Thompson ranks Shergar as "probably the best of all time."
The horse won both the Irish Derby and the Epsom Derby, England's equivalent of the Kentucky Derby, in 1981.
asserted
horse → see → 1981
"And he won by 10 lengths," Thompson said.
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Thompson → win → lengths
"The guy who rode the second horse, he was long-sighted and he couldn't wear his glasses, obviously, when he was riding.
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he → ride → glasses
So when he passed the post, he thought he'd won."
asserted
he → pass → post
Shergar, with a distinctive white blaze on his face and four white socks, was known for his overwhelming speed and stride.
asserted
Shergar → know → speed
After a hero's welcome back in County Kildare, Ireland's horse country, Shergar was put out to stud at Ballymany Stud Farm.
asserted
Shergar → put → Farm
The Aga Khan syndicated Shergar, selling 40 shares in the horse at 250,000 pounds each, totaling more than $50 million, in today's currency.
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Khan → syndicate → currency
The night Shergar was taken
Jim Fitzgerald, Shergar's late head groom, was there the night the kidnappers showed up.
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kidnappers → take → ?
Before his death, Fitzgerald described what happened to Belfast-based filmmaker Alison Millar for her documentary, "Searching for Shergar."
asserted
what → describe → Shergar
"My impression was that he was absolutely haunted, traumatized by the whole experience," Millar said.
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Millar → traumatize → experience
She doesn't believe Fitzgerald ever got over the trauma of what happened on Feb. 8, 1983.
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what → believe → Feb.
And we were in the sitting room," Fitzgerald said in the documentary.
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Fitzgerald → say → documentary
"And the next thing, a knock come at the door and these gangsters come in with guns."
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gangsters → come → guns
The gunman ordered them to the floor and held Fitzgerald at gunpoint as he took them to Shergar's stable.
asserted
he → order → stable
The kidnappers made off with Shergar, and released Fitzgerald about 30 miles away from the farm.
"He had the gun pointed at his head and told to get outta the car and, 'Shut up.
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gun → make → car
Don't talk about this,'" Millar said.
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Millar → talk → this
Why Shergar was taken
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taken → take → ?
Shergar's kidnapping happened during "
", a violent conflict that terrorized Northern Ireland for decades.
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that → happen → decades
Bombings and shootings rocked the country, with Catholics pitted against Protestants, mostly over questions of British rule.
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Catholics → rock → rule
The IRA, the Catholic paramilitary group, raised funds for its campaign through bank and post office robberies.
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IRA → raise → robberies
For the IRA, Shergar represented a potential massive source of funds.
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Shergar → represent → funds
He was the most expensive horse in the world," Millar said.
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Millar → say → world
"The bank robberies weren't paying off."
asserted
robberies → pay → ?
The IRA wanted cash for guns, according to Millar.
uncertain
IRA → want → Millar
There were hardly any clues when police responded to Shergar's kidnapping, and they were never able to make an arrest.
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they → be → arrest
The mystery captivated Ireland.
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mystery → captivate → Ireland
A folk song about the search for Shergar came out.
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song → come → Shergar
Crime-solving clairvoyants got involved.
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clairvoyants → solve → ?
"The help lines were getting bonkers [with] people saying, 'Hey, we found the horse.'
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we → get → horse
It was, like, a dead sheep," Millar said.
asserted
Millar → say → ?
Over the weeks and years that followed, theories abounded as the search for Shergar continued.
asserted
search → follow → Shergar
…and 22 more, not listed.
The Aporia
