The former trainer and jockey died in Dunedin on Tuesday, aged 86.
The Didham family have made an incredible mark on Wingatui racing.
So, too, have the Anderton family. Despite the competitive nature of racing, the two families were good friends, Brian Anderton said.
''The Andertons and the Didhams were Wingatui for a long time. We were great competitors on the track, but good friends off it.''
Anderton said he would remember Didham as a master trainer as well as a good friend.
''He was just a really decent fellow. He was a very good trainer; he never had a huge number of horses.''
Former Otago Daily Times racing editor Tayler Strong covered much of Didham's career.
''Mick was a great all-round guy, really, and a very astute trainer,'' Strong said.
''He loved his racing and he loved his fishing and he loved his golf.''
Didham and his father, Arthur (sen), are credited as being pioneers in the campaigning of southern horses in Australia.
''He took his father's horses to Australia and looked after them as well his own. He was a pretty clued-up guy,'' Strong said.
''They had some very good horses. Field Chief was one of them; he went to Sydney and Melbourne and won good races over there.''
The Didham family's ultimate success in Australia came when Didham's brother, Midge, won the 1970 Melbourne Cup on Baghdad Note.
The family's contribution to South Island racing continues through Mick's brother Les, who trains at Riccarton with his son Richard.
Mick's granddaughter, Courtney Barnes, who will ride at Timaru tomorrow, describes her grandfather as a great supporter of her career.
