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.
In 1991, Bobby Burke and his brother Eugene, who was breeding horses himself, met in Galway with businessman and auctioneer Liam Mulryan.
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.
[1] 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.