Stan Cosgrove: Shergar kidnap marked a sad chapter in a wonderful life

Stan Cosgrove was a man of prodigious energy. From the earliest days of his professional life he won a reputation as a skilled and hard-working veterinary surgeon who made himself available at any hour of the day or night.

That trait of intense commitment was evident during a hectic period in 1983 when Cosgrove, a significant figure in Irish racing throughout a long and productive life, was thrust into the limelight following the abduction of Shergar from Ballymany Stud on the night of February 8.

By one account, Cosgrove, Shergar's vet at Ballymany and a shareholder in the brilliant dual Derby winner, was the first person contacted by stud groom James Fitzgerald following his release by the kidnappers in the vicinity of Kilcock some four hours after the audacious raid. Another version suggests Fitzgerald telephoned the Aga Khan's Irish manager Ghislain Drion who then contacted Cosgrove.

What seems certain is that Drion and Cosgrove delayed relaying the information to the Gardai. Instead, Cosgrove telephoned former Irish Army officer Sean Berry, manager of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, who contacted government ministers Alan Dukes and Michael Noonan before the Gardai were informed.

The long-running investigation produced a chapter of colourful incident, seldom less than bizarre, often farcical. An initial purported ransom demand involved a trio of British racing journalists, including Derek Thompson and John Oaksey, acting as intermediaries.

Accompanied by armed detectives

By February 11, security specialists Control Risks were engaged in negotiations with the kidnappers, leading to Cosgrove being sent as a representative of the syndicate to the Crofton Hotel in Dublin, with instructions from the gang to ask if there were any messages for "Johnny Logan", the name of Ireland's 1980 Eurovision Song Contest winner. He was accompanied to the hotel by armed detectives. There was no message.

On the following day a further contact told the negotiators that photos deposited at the Rosnaree Hotel in County Louth would prove Shergar was still alive. A series of Polaroid pictures of the head of a horse, alongside a copy of Belfast newspaper The Irish News dated February 11, were left at the hotel. Cosgrove was able to confirm the horse was indeed Shergar. However, the syndicate refused to accept this as proof that the horse was still alive.

All trails ran cold, as the national and international media continued to take feverish interest, highlighting the Inspector Clouseau-like performances of Chief Superintendent James Murphy, whose press-conference remark, "A clue? That is something we haven't got", seemed singularly appropriate.

Some months later Cosgrove was involved in another bizarre episode, involving Denis Minogue, a self-styled horse trainer who claimed to have contacts within the IRA and offered Shergar's release on payment of a ransom of £80,000. Accompanied by a Detective Garda, Cosgrove deposited the money in the boot of a car at an arranged location. The money was gone when the police officer returned the next day. It was never recovered, and it was not until 2007 that Minogue surfaced again, jailed for a series of brutal sexual assaults in Britain.

Stan Cosgrove with Pat Smullen and Frances Crowley at 2011 Moyglare DinnerCredit: Caroline Norris

An abiding mystery for the public, Shergar's fate still resonates as a subject for conjecture and speculation. For Cosgrove, whose insurers Norwich Union refused to pay out on the basis of the absence of a theft-clause, it was a heavy blow financially, as well as a source of deep regret on account of his personal attachment to the horse as one of his charges.

Cosgrove's rich legacy involves organisations such as RACE and the ITBA as well as a host of fundraising and charitable activities, performed with a combination of zeal and disarming charm. He was a genial and much-loved character, for whom the Shergar affair was a sad interlude in a life otherwise blessed with success and marked by professional distinction.

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