Jim Maxwell’s love of cricket and racing collide as Fiddlers Green shoots for Rosehill win during second Test in Adelaide

Cricket commentator Jim Maxwell wishes he could be in two places at once as his racehorse Fiddlers Green strives for a Rosehill win while the Aussies battle India in the second Test in Adelaide.

Jim Maxwell, the voice of Australian summers for decades, is torn between his two great sporting passions at iconic venues 1400km apart on Saturday.

Maxwell is the ABC’s premier cricket commentator and will be behind the microphone as Australia take on India in the Second Test in Adelaide.

But the venerable sports broadcaster is also a passionate horse racing fan and a part-owner of Fiddlers Green, one of the leading chances in the Canadian Club Handicap (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens.

• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet’s team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Fiddlers Green is also entered for the Racing And Sports Handicap (1400m) at Randwick’s Kensington meeting on Friday but trainers Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald are leaning to the Saturday race.

Maxwell must wish he could be in two places at once when Fiddlers Green goes to Rosehill off a stunning comeback win at Hawkesbury when he gapped his rivals, winning by nearly six lengths and running the 1400m in a brilliant 1mim 21.17sec.

“The jockey (apprentice Mollie Fitzgerald) got off and said she has never ridden a horse that travelled as fast as that once it hit the lead,” Maxwell said.

“It was a remarkable first-up run at Hawkesbury and although Saturday’s race is stronger, we are very excited.”

Fiddlers Green, with star young jockey Zac Lloyd in the saddle, is at $3.10 behind only Shangri La Spring at $2.90 in overnight TAB Fixed Odds betting for the Rosehill race.

At Kensington on Friday, Fiddlers Green is the early favourite at $2.70 favourite ahead of Liberty State at $3.80.

Maxwell revealed he has always had an interest in racing, even as a teenager when he was at the exclusive Cranbrook School in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

“I was the school ‘bookie” and took bets on the footy, I had a footy card every week, and I used to run the Melbourne Cup book,” he said.

“But when I became a prefect, it got to the point where the Headmaster called me in and said you had better stop doing this now.”

Fiddlers Green sails down the centre of the track and bolts in the first leg of the quaddie at @hawkesburyrc!@ANeashamRacingpic.twitter.com/bgSCS3imSa

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 21, 2024

Maxwell’s passion for the “Sport of Kings” was also fuelled by two of his schoolmates, John and Gary Moore, the sons of the all-time great jockey George Moore.

“John was actually quite a good cricketer and played in the Cranbrook School First X1 a few times,” Maxwell said.

“Then I went to Uni of NSW in 1969 and I used to go to the old ‘Flat’ at Randwick - that was the year of George Moore’s big Easter carnival.”

Maxwell’s comment coincidentally came just a few days after Hall of Famer Ron Quinton pulled me aside at Rosehill Gardens last Saturday and urged me to revisit what Moore did during the Randwick autumn carnival more than 50 years ago.

“James McDonald had a great Cup Week at Flemington riding 11 winners but Moore won 15 races at Randwick in the 1969 autumn carnival and I’m pretty sure there were only seven races most of those days,” Quinton said.

In fact, Moore rode a remarkable 15 of the 29 winners across the four days of the 1969 Randwick Easter carnival including the ATC Australian Oaks (Flying Fable) and All Aged Stakes (Foresight).

Maxwell joined the ABC in 1973 and became the radio station’s number one cricket commentator and presenter, covering nearly 350 Test matches over the years.

But he has always retained a keen interest in racing and when his schedule permits, he enjoys a Saturday afternoon at Royal Randwick races.

“I’ve seen some great horses but I think you have to put a marker down for Winx and Black Caviar,” he said.

“I also had a soft spot for Belmura Lad who won a Doncaster Handicap (1979) and the (1977 ATC Australian) Derby.”

Jim Maxwell was schoolmates with John and Gary Moore, sons of legendary jockey, George Moore.

Maxwell has raced some horses with moderate success himself and used his cricket experiences to come up with an inspired named for a gelding by Street Sense out of Sharne.

“I got into this horse with a few mates and we were thinking of a name,” Maxwell said.

“His dam, Sharne, reminded me of Shane Warne who was going out with Liz Hurley at the time.

“In the end, I said ‘Warnie’ is always in the news so why don’t we call it Mr Hurley.”

But the promising Fiddlers Green, winner of three of his 10 starts, could be the best horse Maxwell has owned.

Fiddlers Green is raced by a syndicate that includes Peter Horwitz, the leading Sydney racing identity and owner of many topliners including champion Sir Dapper.

“Peter and I go back a long time through cricket,” Maxwell revealed.

“He was a good left-arm spinner for Gordon and I played against him. We have met for dinner on various Ashes tours.

“But our racing association surfaced about 10 years ago when I went out to a yearling sale at Randwick and we bumped into each other there.

“Peter told me he was keen on a Shamardal filly as I was so I said I will watch him in action.”

Horwitz purchased the filly and Maxwell agreed to take a share. They called her Kind Heart and she won races at Randwick and Warwick Farm.

Jim Maxwell has a soft spot for Belmura Lad (outside) beating Kingston Town (centre) and No Peer in the L.K.S McKinnon Stakes.

Maxwell was also persuaded by Horwitz to buy into Fiddlers Green after he was purchased by Neasham Racing for $170,000 at the Inglis Premier Sale two years ago.

“Peter O’Brien, who runs Segenhoe, saw the horse and told me this was the nicest Merchant Navy yearling he had seen in a long while,” Horwitz said.

“That encouraged me to buy into Fiddlers Green. My son, Jack, and I have more than 50 per cent of the horse.

“Fiddlers Green was fantastic at Hawkesbury and hopefully he can go on with it on Saturday.”

So, what is the meaning of Fiddlers Green, which conjures images of a quaint English village cricket ground?

But Horwitz, who once coached Australian cricket greats Steve and Mark Waugh, revealed the four-year-old gelding’s name has a very different meaning.

“Fiddler’s Green” is a reference to an afterlife for sailors where there is “perpetual mirth, music and dancing”.

“Merchant seamen dream that when they go to heaven they go to Fiddler’s Green,” Horwitz said.

Maxwell would have liked to be at Rosehill to see if Fiddlers Green can win again but he will be in Adelaide for the second of a five-Test series between Australia and India.

Australia is already 1-0 down after a thumping loss in the Perth Test and Pat Cummins’ team needs to bounce back in Adelaide or their chances of winning back the Border-Gavaskar trophy will be all but dashed.

Kind Heart was a winner at Randwick and Warwick Farm for Jim Maxwell. Picture: Bradley Photos

Maxwell described Test cricket as a “strange beast” after India recovered from being dismissed for 150 on the first day in Perth to dominate Australia.

“An hour or two can change the momentum of a Test so drastically that you can’t get it back,” Maxwell said.

”Australia had done a pretty good job to roll India for 150 but that final hour on day one with Bumrah bowling hand grenades turned the game.

“We went to stumps at 7/67 and we were in a pickle. It meant we were never going to get near India’s first innings total.

“Then India batted so well at the start of the second innings with Jaiswal and Rahul and the game escaped us.”

Maxwell concedes Australia has “some issues, particularly with the top order batting.”

“The problem the selectors have got with the batting is where to next,” Maxwell said.

“If you picked a shadow XI for this Australian side you would struggle to be confident with the batting order.

“If we lose this Test we have to go back to 1936/37 when Australia, with Sir Donald Bradman as captain, came from 2-0 down to win the Ashes series 3-2.

“It will be fascinating to see what happens with the pink ball in Adelaide given Australia has such an extraordinary record in pink-ball day-night Tests. We need to win in Adelaide but we are good enough to do it.”

Neasham-Archibald team’s hot form to continue

Promising Fiddlers Green is among a collection of competitive chances set to continue the successful start to the Annabel Neasham-Rob Archibald training partnership over the next two days.

The Neasham-Archibald training partnership is having an outstanding debut season preparing 85 winners on all tracks since August 1 to be fourth on the national premiership, including Group 1 wins with Sunshine In Paris (Champions Sprint) and Port Lockroy (Railway Stakes) for stable earnings of more than $12m.

“As a trainer, you never get too far ahead of yourself in this game,” Archibald said. “You are always trying to get those horses that are not winning to be winning races.

“But we have a great team around us and the stable has had a good start to the season.”

The trainers have a powerful stable entry at multiple venues over the next two days including dual acceptor Fiddlers Green who is entered for Friday’s Randwick Kensington and also at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.

Archibald said they are still considering their options with Fiddlers Green but have a preference for the Rosehill race.

Mickey's Medal, under the urgings of apprentice Zac Wadick, turns the tables on Headley Grange and scores a well-earned win for @ANeashamRacing 👏 pic.twitter.com/bKfECgoQ1k

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) July 20, 2024

“Fiddlers Green won very well at Hawkesbury first-up,” Archibald said.

“We had been really happy with him going into that race, his trials had been good.

“He’s always shown a lot but physically he is more mature now and hopefully he can do it again.”

Fiddlers Green’s stablemate Mickey’s Medal has been scratched from the Kensington race and is likely to line up in the $75,000 Mudgee Cup (1400m) on Friday, a race that has Big Dance eligibility.

Numerian, gives the Neasham-Archibald stable a chance for a third major in the Group 1 $1.5m Northerly Stakes (1800m) at Ascot on Saturday.

“I really like him in this race,” Archibald said.

“He is enjoying Perth and had a good trial win over there.”

Archibald said Numerian is being aimed at the Perth Cup but confirmed Railway Stakes hero Port Lockroy is returning for the Group 2 $2m The Ingham (1600m) at Royal Randwick on December 14.

“Port Lockroy travelled back to Sydney on Thursday night and is going to The Ingham,” he said.

Archibald also revealed top mare Lady Laguna has been spelled after her sixth to Overpass in the Winterbottom Stakes.

“We were thinking of the Gold Rush with Lady Laguna but James (McDonald, jockey) feels the mare doesn’t quite stretch out that way of going compared to what she does in Sydney,” Archibald said.

“So, we will bring her home and give her a break now as there are of options for her in the autumn.”

Originally published as Jim Maxwell’s love of cricket and racing collide as Fiddlers Green shoots for Rosehill win during second Test in Adelaide