'A very special person' - Clive Cox pays tribute following death of former Harry Angel owner Peter Ridgers

Peter Ridgers, who won the Ayr Gold Cup with Jimmy Styles and owned star sprinter Harry Angel before selling him to Godolphin, died at the age of 76 on Saturday following a short illness.

Born and bred in Ascot, Ridgers worked in finance and had horses with Clive Cox.

The best of them by far was Harry Angel, who won the Mill Reef and Sandy Lane Stakes in the owner's red and yellow silks. He was bought by Godolphin in 2017 and ended the season as champion sprinter following two Group 1 victories. 

Cox said: "Peter was the most amazing gentleman and his death is a huge blow personally and professionally – he was a superstar. We shared some wonderful times together and I've got great memories of those moments.

"He was a very special person and there would be no nicer man. He came and found us and it soon became clear we got on really well. He loved his racing and the horses immensely, while he was a wonderful family man too. He never missed an opportunity to enjoy himself."

Ridgers is survived by his wife Josie, children Paul, Claire and Alex and six grandchildren.

"He had horses at the start with Jack Holt and then he reached out to Clive," Alex Ridgers said.

"Harry Angel was a world champion and probably his favourite. It was lovely on Saturday when Dad was still with us to see Harry Angel sire a Group 3 winner in Dubai and a Listed winner at Lingfield. That gave him one last smile. 

"He also had lot of affection for a horse called Louie De Palma, who was second in the Richmond Stakes to Ivawood as a two-year-old in 2014. He then had laminitis and was on death's door many times. He was well looked after and came back racing 1,381 days later and won a couple of times too, which showed how much Dad cared about his horses."