The New Zealand thoroughbred industry has lost one of its most influential figures of the last two decades with the passing of Kevin Hickman after a long illness.

Tributes to the Valachi Downs principal have flowed from around New Zealand and Australia, including from Gareth Downey, who was Valachi’s general manager from 2020 to its closure in 2022. He now has a management role with leading Australian stable Lindsay Park Racing.

“It really is a huge loss, and it’s the end of what’s been a very difficult journey in recent years for Kevin and his family,” Downey said.

“A few of us who were on the Valachi team have been catching up today, and we’re all forever grateful for the opportunities that he gave us. Even apart from the many varied successes he had in his life, he was such an inspirational, dedicated and passionate man who loved the horses and loved his people. If you were part of his team, he made you feel like part of his family.

“What he achieved in racing and breeding in a relatively short space of time was remarkable and indicative of the type of man that he was. Whatever he set his mind to, be it in business or sport or thoroughbreds, he was determined to succeed, and he invariably did. But that success never came at the cost of his ethics or integrity. He still had lifelong friends from his childhood, and all of the success that he had in his life never changed him one bit.

“There aren’t many people like Kevin Hickman, and a lot of people who were lucky enough to know him are feeling the pain of his loss today.”

A relative latecomer to the racing and breeding world, Hickman was born in Westport and grew up in Darfield and Rakaia before moving to Christchurch to join the New Zealand Police. He progressed through those ranks to become a detective, which was just one of a number of achievements in a varied and distinguished career. He was also a competitive athlete and highly respected athletics coach, and in 1984 he co-founded Ryman Healthcare – a retirement-village business that has grown to encompass 42 villages, which are home to more than 12,500 residents and employs more than 6,000 people.

It was only when Hickman retired as Ryman’s managing director in 2006 that he began to dip his toes into the thoroughbred world. What started as a hobby developed into something much more, and his influence as a breeder, owner, sponsor and charitable donor will be felt for decades to come.

“Kevin Hickman made a wonderful contribution to the New Zealand breeding and racing industries,” New Zealand Bloodstock’s managing director Andrew Seabrook said. “Kevin introduced some lovely European blood to this country with the importation of several mares every year.

“Not scared to think outside the square with some of his breeding theories, not only was Kevin a New Zealand Breeder of the Year, he was also crowned New Zealand Owner of the Year in 2014. There was hardly a race meeting that went by where his well-known colours weren't seen or where his beloved stud, Valachi Downs, wasn't a sponsor. The impact he made to the New Zealand thoroughbred industry will be felt for years to come.”

Hickman’s pride and joy was his homebred O’Reilly mare Silent Achiever, who was trained by Roger James to win 10 of her 36 starts and more than $3.6 million in stakes. She won the Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m), Gr.2 Avondale Guineas (2100m), Gr.2 Championship Stakes (2100m) and Gr.3 Waikato Guineas (2000m) in a stellar three-year-old season, then proved herself on both sides of the Tasman as an older horse with victories in the Gr.1 Tancred Stakes (2400m), Ranvet Stakes (2000m) and New Zealand Stakes (2000m). She also finished third in the 2014 Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m), where she was beaten by a neck and a short head by Adelaide and Fawkner in one of the closest finishes in the race’s storied history.

Other notable performers in Hickman’s gold and blue colours included Group One performers Savile Row, Vernanme and Blue Solitaire, along with Gr.2 Doomben Roses (2000m) heroine Bohemian Lily and fellow Group winners Needle And Thread, Communique and Emerald Queen.

Hickman and his wife Joanna also developed Valachi Downs into an internationally respected thoroughbred nursery. Located near Matamata and at one stage home to 80 of Hickman’s broodmares on a property spanning 110 acres, Valachi Downs was sold to Lib and Katrina Petagna in 2022 and rebranded as Elsdon Park.

Hickman’s long list of breeding successes includes Group One winner and champion two-year-old Vespa and this year’s jaw-dropping Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m) winner Warmonger, plus other big-race performers such as Savile Row, Arrogant and Benaud.

Valachi Downs stood stallions Zacinto, Vespa, U S Navy Flag, Ten Sovereigns and Savile Row. Zacinto’s successful stud career was the product of a partnership with his previous home, Inglewood Stud in Canterbury, with which Hickman had a long-standing and close association.

“Kevin played an instrumental role in the development of Inglewood Stud over the past 12 years as a major shareholder in both Zacinto and our current stallion War Decree,” Inglewood Stud co-owner Gus Wigley said.

“He didn’t hesitate to support Bianca and I when we bought both stallions, which was very typical of the man. He was a great supporter of young people willing to have a go.

“He made a massive contribution to our industry – from the farm he developed, to the mares he imported, to the opportunities he offered people within our industry. He was also just a bloody good bloke that I enjoyed the company of, and he’ll be very much missed.”

That sentiment is shared widely around Australasia and particularly in Canterbury, where Hickman honoured his roots with sustained sponsorship support.

“Kevin had a great passion for racing here at Riccarton Park, stemming from being a very proud Cantabrian,” Canterbury Jockey Club chief executive Tim Mills said.

“He was an owner, breeder, sponsor, corporate host and friend of racing. A man who never forgot his roots, he had a particular affinity with the Hororata raceday, coming from that part of Canterbury.

“He set out to get both the Canterbury Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) and South Island Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) upgraded to Group Three status, contributing significantly with his Valachi Downs sponsorship to enable stakes above the industry minimum. That goal was achieved, and the success of both races is due to Kevin’s support.

“In his perpetual memory, it is fitting that the Kevin Hickman Retirement Village now borders the 1200m chute at Riccarton Park, looking out over where so many horses raced in his colours.”

Hickman was also a generous supporter of charities, donating significantly to the likes of the Horse Ambulance Trust, CatWalk Trust, Women’s Refuge, Pet Refuge and the Christchurch Medical Research Centre.

He was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 2016.