NAVAN, Ireland – Brian Hayes completed a three-from-three riding card at Navan on January 17, 2026, landing a 396-1 treble built around upset winner Joystick in the 3m QuinnBet Beginners Chase and capped by a market-led success for Brown Boots in the 3m handicap chase.
The results were framed by two of Irish jump racing’s biggest audience drivers: recognisable talent and a betting-led narrative. Hayes’s treble came on a Saturday card built for media consumption and wagering volume, and it arrived days after he married Rachael Blackmore, the retired National Hunt jockey whose Grand National and Cheltenham Festival successes helped pull the sport into the mainstream.
The meeting took place under the jurisdiction of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, which oversees race-day rules, licensing and betting integrity under Ireland’s primary racing legislation and the wider gambling framework set out by the Totalisator Act 1931.
Joystick floors Supreme winner Slade Steel in Navan’s 3m beginners’ chase
The centrepiece of Hayes’s afternoon came in the 3m QuinnBet Beginners Chase, a key mid‑winter trial for staying chasers, where Joystick (16-1) beat odds‑on favourite Slade Steel (8-15) by two and a half lengths. Slade Steel, trained by Henry de Bromhead, won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham in 2024 and was widely expected to make a seamless transition over fences.
In the closing stages, Slade Steel moved up between the final two fences and briefly looked poised to assert, but Joystick, ridden positively throughout, met the last on a good stride and stayed on strongly to secure the win at Navan. The upset not only reshaped early-season chasing form but also underlined how quickly market assumptions can be overturned in deep ground and over an extended trip.
A treble built across three races, three distances and a late market move
Hayes’s first win arrived in the 2m4f handicap hurdle, where Zanoosh (15-2) “stayed on stoutly in the testing conditions to wear down Hgranca De Thaix.” The ride set the tone for a card run on attritional ground, favouring jockeys prepared to commit early and manage energy rather than wait for a late turn of foot that never comes.
The treble was completed when Brown Boots, backed from 9-2 earlier in the day into 7-4 favourite, won the 3m handicap chase by six lengths. The sustained gamble on Brown Boots highlighted how Irish Saturday cards now function as de facto benchmarks for the regulated betting market, with on‑course moves quickly mirrored across licensed online operators.
Hayes had also won the Dan and Joan Moore Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse on January 14, 2026, riding Western Diego, extending a purple patch that has arrived at a moment when the sport is reassessing riding careers, welfare standards and fixture planning in response to evolving regulatory and public‑policy pressure.
“It’s magic. You get forgotten very easily in this game so it’s important to remind people you can do it. It’s nice to have a treble any day, but to do it at Navan on a busy Saturday is magic. I have doubles alright, but not many trebles, so it’s nice.”
Hayes also singled out Brown Boots’ trainer, Liam Cusack, saying: “I’m mad about Liam. He’s a really good, genuine person who tries his best for the horses and owners. He plays the long game with them and doesn’t rest them. They usually come good.”
The combination of an in‑form jockey, a patient trainer and a strongly backed favourite will not be lost on handicappers and betting operators, all of whom must interpret such performances within Ireland’s licensed wagering environment and tightening oversight of gambling‑related harm.
Blackmore, who retired from race‑riding in 2025 after a career that included becoming the first female jockey to win the Grand National, has remained an influential figure in debates over jockey welfare, concussion protocols and career transition. Her presence at Navan added an extra layer of narrative to Hayes’s treble, underscoring how individual success stories now intersect with broader questions about how the sport supports its participants beyond the saddle.
Elsewhere on the card: Zeus Power springs opening‑race surprise
The day also included a surprise in the opening novice hurdle, where JJ Slevin won on Zeus Power (6-1) after “sneak[ing] up the inside of Jack Kennedy on Lazare De Star.” The ride was a reminder that, even away from the feature events, split‑second decisions in tightly regulated race conditions can swing prize‑money, form lines and future entries.
Slevin said: “That was a good performance. He won very well the last day. I heard Gordon [Elliott] speaking yesterday and he was confident about his lad [Lazare De Star], so that was a good performance from my lad. Richie Deegan [regular rider] was unfortunately injured, so we better not forget him.”
For owners and trainers, such results inform campaigning decisions for the rest of the season, including whether to target graded races or remain in handicaps as the Irish programme book builds towards the spring festivals governed jointly by domestic regulators and, in the case of cross‑border runners, the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities‘ rules and guidance.
Hayes ended the January 17, 2026 Navan meeting with three winners from three rides: Zanoosh (15-2), Joystick (16-1) and Brown Boots (7-4 favourite) – a perfect card that reinforced his status in a weighing room increasingly shaped by form, fine margins and the constant scrutiny of modern, regulated betting markets.
