Ernest John "Midge" Didham (born 1945 in

Mosgiel Mosgiel (Māori: ''Te Konika o te Matamata'') is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

) is a retired

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

and horse trainer. Midge's father, Arthur, was a top-class jockey and trained at Wingatui. Midge was the leading New Zealand jockey in the 1969–70 season with 99 wins. He shifted to Australia after he rode Igloo, trained by his father, to finish second to Silver Knight in the 1971

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

. Some of the major wins during Didham's career include: * 1965

Wellington Cup The Wellington Cup is a Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race in New Zealand held annually in late January at Trentham Racecourse in Trentham by the Wellington Racing Club. History Inaugurated in 1874, the Wellington Cup has been raced over various ...

on Eiffel Tower * 1970

Baghdad Note Baghdad Note (1965−1992) was a New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse, who won the 1970 Melbourne Cup and was ridden by Midge Didham. Background He was sired by Kurdistan (GB), his dam Fair Note (NZ) was by Fairs Fair (GB). Racing career Given ...

* 1971

Turnbull Stakes The Turnbull Stakes is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race, for horses four years old and older, run under set weights with penalties conditions over a distance of 2,000 metres. The race is held at Flemington Racecourse, Melb ...

at Flemington and 1971

Coongy Handicap The Coongy Cup, registered as the Coongy Handicap, is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race held under open handicap conditions, for horses aged three years old and upwards, over a distance of 2000 metres, held at Caulfield R ...

at Caulfield on Igloo * 1971

Auckland Cup The Auckland Cup is an annual race held by the Auckland Racing Club (ARC). It is an Open Handicap for thoroughbred racehorses competed on the flat turf over 3200 metres (two miles) at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. The race was ...

on Artifice, trained by his brother Jim Didham at Otaki * 1977

Oakleigh Plate The Oakleigh Plate is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race, run over a distance of 1100 metres at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in late February. Total prize money is A$750,000. History The Oakleigh ...

on Merger * 1980

Moonee Valley Gold Cup The Moonee Valley Gold Cup is a registered Moonee Valley Racing Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged four-years-old and upwards under Set Weights with penalties conditions, over a distance of 2,500 metres, held annually at Moonee ...

on Tai Salute * 1980

Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

* 1981

on Silver Bounty Didham retired from riding in 1985 and then trained in Melbourne for 20 years. Didham's sons, John and Paul Didham, were also jockeys. Paul went on to become a racing official and chief starter in Victoria. He would go on to release the field for the Caulfield Cup, the race his father won twice as a jockey.

References

1945 births Living people People from Mosgiel New Zealand jockeys {{australia-horseracing-bio-stub

See also

References