Shergar

The Final Word

Lawrence Donegan (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

320 Seiten

2009
HarperSport (Verlag)
978-0-00-725507-8 (ISBN)

Infos

Shergar tells the remarkable story of the disappearance of the world's most famous racehorse; of the crime and its long and bizarre aftermath. Using previously secret police files and interviews with all the pivotal characters, bestselling author Lawrence Donegan finally solves one of the greatest crime mysteries of the age. Whatever happened to Shergar? Who were the men who stole one of the most famous racehorses in history? Why did they do it? And where are the bones of Shergar?The story begins on 8 February 1983. Eight masked gunmen descended on the Ballymany Stud shortly after midnight, forced stable lad Jim Fitzgerald to lead the Aga Khana's white-faced colt and beloved 1981 Derby winner into the back of a horse box and then headed north. Within hours, the rural calm of County Kildare was shattered and the world's media descended and Irish police began the biggest hunt in its history. Meanwhile behind the scenes, negotiators were in contact with the real kidnappers - a renegade gang of Provisional IRA men demanding a two million pound ransom, money which would be used to finance the Republican war against the British Army in Northern Ireland.
Shergar brings the story of one of the all-time greats of the horseracing world back to life. Among those interviewed by award-winning Guardian journalist and author Lawrence Donegan: Walter Swinburn, who rode the champion for most of his career, and jockeys such as Willie Carson who rode against the horse; trainer Vincent O'Brien, stable groom Jim Fitzgerald; detectives involved in the original investigation, including Dept Supt James Murphy; Stan Cosgrove, the brilliant vet trusted to look after the health of some of the most valuable thoroughbreds in the world; former IRA members, Garda Special Branch officers and the alleged leader of the kidnap gang. An extraordinary story - part detective thriller, part social history and part comic farce - Shergar is full of bizarre characters: the Irish vet who owned a share in the 10 million stallion pound and has spent the past two decades trying to claim his insurance money; a horse-obsessed detective whose only ambition before he retired was to solve the crime of the century; and an IRA informer who ratted on his former colleagues to tell the full story of how the horse was killed.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 14.5.2009
• Zusatzinfo: 10 black & white halftones, 30 colour illustrations, 10 b/w, 30 col plates (16pp), With index
• Verlagsort: London
• Sprache: englisch
• Maße: 141 x 222 mm
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Sport ► Reiten / Pferde
• ISBN-10: 0-00-725507-1 / 0007255071
• ISBN-13: 978-0-00-725507-8 / 9780007255078
• Zustand: Neuware