Champion missed chance to prove himself at stud

WHEN Shergar retired to stud, it was envisaged his bequest to the world would be a glorious lineage of racing legends.

Instead his legacy amounts to memories, speculation, several movies and documentaries and a shelfful of books — the latest out this week by journalist and author Lawrence Donegan.

But would things have been much different if he had not disappeared? In his first year at stud he covered less than 40 mares and none of the resulting offspring went on to light up the race tracks. Compare that with some of the superstuds who can cover over 200 mares in a year, not only increasing revenue from stud fees but also their chances of siring a winner.