Mal Fitzgerald with younger daughter Lacey and retired racehorse Rawson (now called Maximus) at The Grange.
Great to catch up with popular Malcolm Fitzgerald who looks back on a horror two weeks in which the bushfires came dangerously close to the Racing NSW property he manages near Taree.
Mal talks of the job he loves, as he and partner Holly supervise the welfare of 60 former racehorses at Oxley Island. The couple assess and place suitable horses in the right homes.
Mal reflects on his childhood with foster parents and the ambition to become a jockey.
He talks of early days as a bush apprentice and the opportunity that led him to a job with the huge Nebo Lodge operation at Rosehill.
Mal looks back on a torturous battle with weight which almost certainly contributed to the bout of encephalitis that sidelined him for 9 months.
Through the toughest of times Malcolm Fitzgerald has never lost his sense of humour. It’s very evident all the way through this chat with one of racing’s good blokes.
(Banner image courtesy Steve Hart Photographics - Mal with a very young Josh Parr and Ron Quinton at Gosford.)
Image courtesy Steve Hart Photographics - Malcolm and Post Elect in full flight at Rosehill 1990.
Mal and partner Holly riding retired racehorses at The Grange, Oxley Island.
Image courtesy Steve Hart Photographics - Mal after a win on Bay Tights Rosehill 1998.