Brian Hayes suffered a fall in race at Haydock racecourse on Saturday, February 14. A Willie Mullins runner is always dangerous at Haydock and Chart Topper was in good form after winning a novice hurdle at Wetherby and finishing second in a Grade 2 at Kelso last year.
After things didn’t quite go to plan for the seven-year-old at Cheltenham in 2025, he was given a break and looked to be in a promising position with Brian onboard over the weekend. Chart Topper was closing in on the lead before coming down at the penultimate jump.
The Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle was won by the Jeremy Scott-trained Champagne Chic, who was partnered to victory by Harry Skelton. Irish horse Minella Emperor came in second, finishing five and a half lengths behind him under Donagh Meyler for Emmet Mullins.
Brian is the husband of Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National-winning rider, Rachael Blackmore. She announced her retirement from the saddle in May 2025 but she won’t moving away from horse racing for good.
She will be taking up a new role as Head of Ladies Day at the Cheltenham Festival as the track aim to attract more female racegoers. The famous racecourse are reintroducing Ladies Day at the Festival, a concept they previously moved away from in 2019.
Speaking about her new role, she said: “It is going to be a very different experience going racing and not heading for the weighing room, but I’m looking forward to seeing what race days are like from the other side of the rails and working with the team at Cheltenham.
“I’m interested in meeting racegoers to get a proper understanding of why they attend but also what some of the blockers and barriers might be that are stopping their friends and peers from coming.”
When she announced her shock retirement, Rachael paid tribute to her partner. She said: “To all my great friends – you made winning special. Brian Hayes won’t enjoy getting a mention, but he was more important to my career than I’ll ever be able to thank him for.”
It’s been a busy few months for Rachael and Brian as the two recently tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in West Cork. The wedding was a low-key affair which Rachael described as “a party with family and friends”.
This month, the former jockey hinted that the couple were expecting their first child together. She revealed the news on Instagram, posting a snap of her Volvo car with a baby pram in the boot. She captioned the photo: “Love driving the Volvo XC60 BA. Boot contents looking a little bit different now.”
She has previously spoken about living with the jockey. On Doireann Garrihy’s Laughs Of Your Life podcast in 2021, she said: “I live with two other jockeys, Patrick Mullins and Brian Hayes.
“I am going out with Brian Hayes, so there are three of us here. It is a great house to live in and it is in a really good location in Leighlinbridge in Carlow.”