Rachael Blackmore has welcomed her first child with husband Brian Hayes, sharing the first photo of their baby boy and revealing his adorable name.
Michelle Townsend Journalist
20:58, 03 Jun 2026
Rachael Blackmore(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
Rachael Blackmore has welcomed her first child with husband Brian Hayes. The champion jockey shared the first picture of her baby boy, and also shared the sweet name she chose.
Rachael and Brian, who tied the knot back in January, usually keep a low profile and family life out of the public eye. But the couple were overjoyed to share the arrival of their first child together with their social media followers on Wednesday.
Sharing a black and white picture of her son snuggling into her chest, Rachael wrote on Instagram: “Bowie Martin Hayes”, accompanied by a blue loveheart emoji.
Niamh De Brún wrote: “He’s adorable! Congratulations”. Doireann Garrihy said: “Massive congratulations, what a beautiful baby.”
And Yvonne Connolly sent her congratulations with some loveheart emojis.
Rachael announced she was pregnant back in February. She posted a picture of her Volvo car with a baby pram in its boot, writing: “Love driving the Volvo XC60 BA. Boot contents looking a little bit different now…”
The announcement came a month after her and Brian’s low-key West Cork wedding, RSVP reports.
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Rachael, who retired last year after a very successful career in horse racing, was the first female jockey to win the Grand National, and became the first woman to be leading jockey at Cheltenham.
The Tipperary woman has won a total of 575 races as a professional jockey. She and Brian have known each other for more than a decade, having met at a training yard in Carlow when they were both early in their careers.
They previously said that they lived together, sharing a house with their friend Patrick Mullins, the son of legendary jump trainer Willie Mullins.
Rachael Blackmore and Brian Hayes on their wedding day(Image: blackmorerachael / Instagram)
Rachael briefly spoke about their relationship in 2021, saying that their house is great to live in and that people would be surprised that they don’t talk about racing that much.
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.”
When she retired from racing last May, she gave Brian a shou tout in her statement, writing: “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.”
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