The daughter of the Aga Khan, Princess Zahra Aga Khan, has revealed that racehorse Shergar was killed “in an awful way”, finally answering the long-standing mystery of what happened to the famous thoroughbred.
The Aga Khan was the co-owner of Shergar, which was taken from the Ballymany Stud farm in County Kildare, Ireland, in February 1983 with a ransom of £2 million demanded for its safe return.
Princess Zahra told Telegraph Sport that the ransom was never paid, to avoid the possibility of the money finding its way into the wrong hands, and the horse was killed within two days of being kidnapped.
Mystery has surrounded the theft of the thoroughbred since the night of its theft, which involved six armed men taking the 1981 Epsom Derby winner from the stud farm. At the time the IRA were the main suspects behind the kidnapping.
Princess Zahra told Telegraph Sport: “We now know the horse was killed within two days (of being taken). They did so in an awful way.”
She explained that her late father, the 49th imam and spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, who has often been blamed for the failure to pay the ransom, had not been able to pay act alone even if he wished to because Shergar was owned by a syndicate and they all needed to agree.
Princess Zahra, who was aged 12 at the time, said: “Dad was so upset, there was great disbelief. People didn’t understand the horse was syndicated and the ransom demand was only for 10% of his stud value.
“I remember Dad saying over and over, not only was the horse not insured against kidnapping – because who the hell was going to think of kidnapping a horse? – but because the horse was syndicated he couldn’t get everyone to agree on what to do.
“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’s killing, earlier than previously thought, “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. 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. Princess Zahra now leads the family’s business, with her father delegating the breeding side of the operation to her 20 years ago.
