Dam Markup Foaled 5 May 1990 Colour Bay Species Equus caballus Sex Gelding Grandsire Bustino | Damsire Appiani Country Ireland Breeder Liam Skehan Trainer Tommy Carberry Earnings 345,695 GBP | |
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Bobbyjo the 1998 irish grand national fairyhouse
Bobbyjo (1990 – 2001) was an Irish bred racehorse by Bustineto and Markup, best remembered as the winner of the 1999 Grand National steeplechase at Aintree.
Bobbyjo arrived at Aintree having won the Irish Grand National in 1998, however this was not regarded at the time as a good pointe to Grand National success as Irish trained runners had failed to win the race for twenty-four years. On the day Bobbyjo was the subject of a huge gamble that saw him sent off at the short odds of 10/1 with Paul Carberry, the son of the trainer Tommy in the saddle. As coincidence had it, Tommy had been the rider twenty-four years earlier, the last time an Irish trained runner had won the race.
The victory signalled an upturn in fortunes for Irish trained runners in the decade that followed, though he himself completed the course well beaten when defending his crown in 1999.
Bobbyjo broke a knee at Fairyhouse Racecourse in February 2001 and had to be put down one month later due to his incurable injuries. In memorial of the horse, a new steeplechase first run at Fairyhouse Racecourse in February 2003 has been named after him.