Bobbyjo
(1990 – 2001) was an Irish bred
racehorse by Bustineto and Markup, best remembered as the winner of the
1999 Grand National
The 1999 Grand National (known as the Martell Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 152nd official renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 10 April 1999.
The ra ...
steeplechase at
Aintree
Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England.
I ...
. Bobbyjo was owned by Bobby Burke Mullaghmore, Co. Galway.
Humble Beginnings
In 1991, Bobby Burke and his brother Eugene, who was breeding horses himself, met in Galway with businessman and auctioneer Liam Mulryan. They bought six horses from Liam. One was named Bobbyjo and spent the next few years at Eugene's farm in Mullaghmore before being sent for training with Tommy Carberry in July 1995. Bobbyjo was an Irish bred racehorse by Bustineto and Markup. The name Bobbyjo was created by joining Bobby's name with that of his wife Jo.
Grand National Success
Bobbyjo arrived at Aintree in 1999 having won the
Irish Grand National
The Irish Grand National is a National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs (5,834 ...
in 1998, however this was not regarded at the time as a good pointer 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
Paul Carberry is a retired Irish National Hunt jockey.
Background
He was born on 9 February 1974.[Tommy
Tommy may refer to:
People
* Tommy (given name)
* Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film
* ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...]
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
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
.
Death of Bobbyjo
Bobbyjo broke a knee at
Fairyhouse Racecourse
Fairyhouse Racecourse is a horse racing venue in the Republic of Ireland. It is situated in the parish of Ratoath in County Meath, on the R155 regional road, off the N3. It hosted its first race in 1848 and since 1870 has been the home of ...
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.
Pedigree
See also
*
Bobbyjo Chase
External links
Bobbyjo Horse Pedigree
References
1990 racehorse births
2001 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in Ireland
Racehorses trained in Ireland
Grand National winners
Thoroughbred family 2-g
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