Downey eyes Harness 5000 with sentimental homebred

When Santapazienza trotted to victory at Alexandra Park on August 1, there was more to celebrate than a simple training success. For Kumeu horseman Roydon Downey, it was the culmination of family legacy, personal perseverance, and the continuation of a breed that has delivered time and again for the Downeys.

“Obviously it's the old man's (Errol's) breed,” Roydon explains. “Just before he passed away, he put a couple of the mares in foal — Sans Au Revoir was one of them. Ever since then, I’ve taken over all the horses. My siblings weren’t interested, so I brought them all out of the property and carried on.”

Santapazienza, a four-year-old gelding by Wishing Stone out of the eight-win Pine Chip mare Sanchipola, is the first foal Roydon has bred from the mare. Sanchipola, trained and bred by his late father Errol, was herself out of Sanchiola — a 15-race-winning daughter of Chiola Hanover and a former NZ Four-Year-Old Trotting Mare of the Year.

“She was a good mare, Sanchipola,” Roydon says. “I think I drove her to all her wins — or maybe most of them, anyway.”

The path to breeding success hasn’t always been easy, and Santapazienza only came about thanks to a bit of help from a mate.

“I was working hard and didn’t really have the funds to get the mares served,” says Roydon. “A good mate of mine, Aaron Lowe, had a Wishing Stone service fee available. I said, ‘You pay for the service and the vet bills to get her in foal, and I’ll do the rest.’”

The gelding has now won twice and placed in six of 15 starts — a strong record considering he spent time on the sidelines early in his career.

“He always had ability, but after he won his first race, he did himself a bit of damage in the paddock — went through a fence,” Roydon says. “He had quite a long spell. It’s probably done him some good, but would’ve been nicer if he’d gone out on our terms.”

The family breed isn’t known for brilliance off the mark, but makes up for it in staying power.

“They don’t have that short, sharp speed, but they wind into it and they seem to hold that speed over a longer distance.”

“I think he’ll go through the grades a bit. He’ll probably go better with a bit of distance on him too. Sans Au Revoir is the same — she’s been competitive over 2700m. They’re not sprinters, but they’ll keep going.”

“All our ones take a bit of time,” he adds. “You’ve just got to be patient enough to wait for them.”

Downey is currently enjoying his best season to date with five winners already in 2025. He keeps a small team ticking over from his Kumeu base, with four currently in work.

“I’ve got Saninarmbro (by Dejarmbro) — she’ll be in the same race as Santapazienza this week — and a three-year-old colt by What The Hill called Diego Maradona who’s qualified and not far off racing. I just turned out a two-year-old filly by the same stallion — her race name’s Camilla Cabello.”

The extended family line continues to perform. San Diego Love (by Love You) won four and is now a promising broodmare herself, having left Brewster Baker, the first New Zealand-bred winner by Six Pack.

Roydon plans to race and breed from his current mares in the coming seasons.

“I’ll probably race Saninarmbro in foal this year and send her to stud soon — probably in the next month or so when she comes in season. The year after that, I’ll do the same with Sans Au Revoir. They do seem to lift a bit when they’re racing in foal.”

He’s also had one final go with Sanchipola, sending her to Tactical Landing last season.

“I was talking to Ken Breckon at the [NZB] Awards last year and he suggested Tactical Landing. I figured I might as well have a decent go now we have better resourcing,” he said.

The mare got in foal and is due to foal in January.

Looking ahead, Santapazienza currently leads the 4YO Male Trotting division of the Harness 5000 bonus series based on earnings — and a southern trip could be on the cards.

“I’d probably target the final at Ashburton. The only problem is the Golden Gait's on the Friday and that’s on the Sunday. I’d love to go to both if I can get the flights.”

“Nothing worries him — he’d love it. A mile, a plane trip, then another mile. He just loves work.”

The success isn’t lost on Roydon, who remains grounded in the family values passed down by his father.

“I’m sure Dad would be proud. I’m just trying to keep the name on the map — as Dad would say.”

Even Claire’s family has caught the trotting bug.

“Yeah, they’re right into it. You’ve got them all queuing up at the rest home on Friday night, watching the races,” he laughed.

From a line of tough trotters to a determined horseman, the Downey name is still going strong — just the way Errol would’ve wanted.