THE happiest man in racing last week was almost certainly Australian John Ridley, appointed Racing Manager by the Jockey Club and, in essence, taking over from John Jeffs whose departure is lamented.
Not only is a job with the richly-endowed RHKJC welcome at any time but it would also seem that Ridley was not wildly keen on Auckland, even though he had been there since 1987.
Impeccable sources inform us that Ridley was on the 'phone to the Macau Jockey Club two years back to inquire if their Clerk of the Course, the ageing but excellent Gordon McVeigh, was thinking of calling it quits.
''I want to get out of New Zealand,'' was the plea. No luck at Taipa, however, as good old Gordon stuck determinedly on.
Well, luck has certainly turned for Ridley who now gets a plum job.
Before his Ellerslie stint, he was at the Australian Jockey Club and, at one stage, an underling to top tracks man, Dick Robert.