Shergar - The Greatest Ever Derby Winner By Johnny Feltcher At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The immediate reaction of most when the name Shergar is mentioned is one of instant familiarity, possibly the most famous horse ever. Regardless of whether you are a Racing fan or not, the name Shergar will conjure up many different thoughts to many, for many different reasons. The majority will be most inclined to express pity and acknowledge the tragic demise of the horse after he was kidnapped in Ireland in 1983.

It is only afterwards that the reaction changes when the horse’s achievements are also acknowledged and appropriate praise bestowed on this most famous of Derby winners.

Shergar won the Epsom Derby in 1981 and followed that up when winning the Irish Derby a few weeks later. His 10 length win at Epsom was the longest winning distance in Derby history and prompted, jockey, Walter Swinburn, to acclaim him as the greatest Derby horse ever. Ironically, Swinburn was to lose the ride to Lester Piggott after Epsom, and it was Piggott who rode him to victory in the Irish Derby at The Curragh.

Shergar started his 3 year old season as a 33/1 shot for the Derby, but after a 10 length win in the Sandown Classic Trial and a 12 length win in the Chester Vase, his odds tumbled, in fact he became the first Odds on favourite to start the Derby since Sir Ivor did so in 1968.

Swinburn’s claim may not be strictly accurate, but Shergar’s victory that day was one of the most awesome ever seen and he remains the last odds on favourite to have won the race. His Epsom Derby win also earned Shergar a place in The Observer's 100 Most Memorable Sporting Moments of the 20th century.

In eight races, Shergar won six, five of them at Group One level, that included the prestigious, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in addition to his dual Derby efforts in both the English and Irish renewals of the race.

At the time, it was expected that his owner, The Aga Khan, would run him in either the St Leger or the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but he astounded racing fans by retiring him to stud in September 1981, thus denying the racing world the chance to immortalise him and realise his true potential and possibly cement his place as the greatest ever race horse with a campaign as a four year old.

Sadly his immortality lies with his bungled kidnap and subsequent disappearance and probable death at the hands of incompetent gangsters whose identities will probably never be known.

In kidnapping Shergar, the bungling gangsters fuelled the imagination of conspiracy theorists, writers and filmmakers alike and Shergar has become the stuff of legend, film and book for all the wrong reasons.

This great horse should always be remembered as the champion he was and the champion he would have become had he been kept in racing. Younger racing enthusiasts would do well to find footage (It does exist on You Tube) of Shergar's famous win and make their own minds up of how great he really was.

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