Princess Zahra Aga Khan has revealed what she thinks happened(Image: Getty Images)
The daughter of the co-owner of stolen racehorse Shergar says the iconic stallion was killed within 48 hours of his capture.
Mystery has surrounded the theft of the legendary thoroughbred from the Ballymany Stud farm in County Kildare, Ireland, back in 1983. Princess Zahra Aga Khan said the £2 million ransom demanded just couldn’t be paid.
The IRA were the main suspects for the crime, which involved six armed men and was followed by a demand for £2million. Princess Zahra Aga Khan said her father, spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, would not pay the sum for both practical and moral reasons.
Shergar went missing on February 8, 1983(Image: Getty Images)
“We now know the horse was killed within two days (of being taken). They did so in an awful way,” she said.
She explained her late father, the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, had not been able to pay up alone because the 1981 Derby winner was owned by a syndicate and they all needed to agree.
Princess Zahra, 55, told Telegraph Sport: “I remember Dad saying the horse was not insured against kidnapping – because who the hell was going to kidnap a horse? but because the horse was syndicated he couldn’t get everyone to agree on what to do.
Princess Zahra says the horse was killed within 48 hours of being taken(Image: Getty Images)
“He also argued that even if he could pay the ransom, he couldn’t do so if (the money) was going to be used against human beings.”
She also revealed that Shergar was killed two days after being taken, earlier than previously thought, and said “it was very unprofessionally done, and when they finally killed him they did so in an awful way”.
She added: “The horse didn’t deserve that. Even as a stallion he was the kindest horse in the world, he was so unfairly treated.
The Daily Mirror’s front page after the horse was seized
“And why? He was a national symbol of Irish breeding and racing. It’s a long time ago, it was a very different world and people had different motivations back then.”
Shergar’s remains have never been found and no one has ever officially admitted responsibility for the theft. The Aga Khan died aged 88 in 2025.
