1999 Grand National – Full Finishing Results
Date: 10 April 1999
Course: Aintree Racecourse
Going: Good to Soft
Distance: 4 miles 4 furlongs 856 yards
Runners: 32
Finishers: 10
Winning Time: 9 minutes 14.1 seconds
| Position | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Age | Weight | SP | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Bobbyjo (IRE) | Paul Carberry | Tommy Carberry | Robert Burke | 9 | 10-00 | 10/1 | Won by 10 lengths |
| 2nd | Blue Charm | Liam Cusack | Nick Gaselee | Robert Waley-Cohen | 10 | 10-00 | 25/1 | 10 lengths behind |
| 3rd | Call It A Day | Jamie Osborne | Josh Gifford | Mrs. M. Gifford | 9 | 10-03 | 25/1 | 8 lengths behind |
| 4th | Addington Boy | Norman Williamson | Pat Fahy | M. P. O’Connell | 11 | 10-05 | 12/1 | 4 lengths behind |
| 5th | Eudipe (FR) | Tony McCoy | Martin Pipe | David Johnson | 7 | 11-05 | 7/1 | 8 lengths behind |
| 6th | St Mellion Fairway | Jamie Osborne | Josh Gifford | Mrs. M. Gifford | 11 | 10-00 | 66/1 | 3 lengths behind |
| 7th | Avro Anson | Norman Williamson | Charlie Brooks | Michael O’Leary | 11 | 10-00 | 25/1 | 1 length behind |
| 8th | Kelami | Andrew Thornton | Henrietta Knight | Lord Vestey | 8 | 10-00 | 33/1 | 2 lengths behind |
| 9th | Feathered Gale | Charlie Swan | Arthur Moore | Mrs. J. Cullen | 9 | 10-01 | 20/1 | 3 lengths behind |
| 10th | General Wolfe | Peter Niven | Mary Reveley | H. Jones | 10 | 10-00 | 50/1 | Last finisher |
Race Summary
- Winner: Bobbyjo (trained by Tommy Carberry, ridden by Paul Carberry)
- Winning Margin: 10 lengths over Blue Charm
- Favourite: Eudipe (7/1) – finished 5th
- Prize for 1st Place: £211,600
- Notable: First Irish-trained winner since L’Escargot in 1975. Bobbyjo later finished 11th in the 2000 Grand National.
The 1999 Grand National had the distinction of being the last without any facility for reserves to participate and, for the sixth time in as many years, was under-subscribed, with just 32 horses facing the starter, rather than the maximum permissible 40. Those 32 runners included the first four home in the 1998 Grand National, Earth Summit, Suny Bay, Samlee and St. Mellion Fairway, but, on significantly faster going, officially described as ‘good’, none of that quartet was involved in the finish.
Favourite at the ‘off’ was Fiddling The Facts, trained by Nicky Henderson, who fell at Becher’s Brook on the second circuit. Joint second-favourite Double Thriller, trained by Paul Nicholls, also fell, at the first fence and, in the absence of two of the three market leaders, victory went to the 10/1 co-third favourite, Bobbyjo, trained by Tommy Carberry, in Co. Meath, and ridden by his son Paul.
After being slightly outpaced at the second-last fence, Bobbyjo was switched to the outside to make his challenge at the final fence and was driven clear on the run-in to win by 10 lengths. Paul Carberry made winning the National sound straightforward, saying, “I got a good start and was handy the whole way. I was able to get a breather into him whenever I wanted. He jumped very well and I sat as long as I could.
Bobbyjo completed the Grand National Course in a time of nine minutes and 14.1 seconds. Blue Charm, trained by Sue Bradburne and ridden by Lorcan Wyer, could find no extra in the closing stages and finished second, just a neck ahead of the other 7/1 joint-second favourite, Call It A Day, trained by David Nicholson and ridden by Richard Dunwoody. Another of the 10/1 co-third favourites, Addington Boy, trained by Ferdy Murphy and ridden by Adrian Maguire, finished fourth, a further seven lengths away.