By Duane Ranger (Courtesy of Redcliffe Paceway)
There’s nothing more than Merv Hieronymus enjoys more than going down to his paddock every morning and saying hullo to his equine mates.
The Redcliffe horseman has done it for several decades, and it gives him one of his biggest kicks in life.
“I’m 80 in August and it’s something I’ve looked forward to every day for 40-odd years. I just love my horses. I treat them like pets. They are family to me. I need that daily contact with them,” Mr Hieronymus said.
“Apart from my partner, Sandra and family, there’s no-one more special than ‘Ella’,” he added.
The former cane grower and dairy farmer had a spring in his step on Friday morning when he went to greet his bonny mare, Ella Under Fire.
At 12.24pm the previous day, the 5-year-old Courage Under Fire mare notched up her first career win, and Hieronymus’s first of the season.
Ella Under Fire and Leonard Cain led all the way from barrier four in race one. Her maiden victory in 18 starts came as no surprise after her “next time” third a week earlier. The punters saw that and made her a $2.25 favourite.
“I thought she might go close because she keeps improving. She had a seventh, a sixth, two fourths and a third going into this race.
“When I bought her from New South Wales late last year, I knew that she had had three trainers, but there was something I liked about her, even though she had a few injuries when I got her, and for that reason, I didn’t race her for three months.
“As a horse I’d rate her a 10 out of 10. She has the most wonderful nature and carries herself so well. She’s just a wonderful creature to be around. A beautiful animal whom I will always have a soft spot for- and one I will always remember,” Mr Hieronymus.
That’s a bold call considering the Toowoomba born horseman has been conditioning standardbreds since the early 1980s/
“The records show I started training in the since the 1986-87 season, but I drove and trained a lot of horses at the Shows in the 198ps and didn’t really train at TAB races until the early 1990s.
“I used to drive a lot at Border Park, and I clearly recall Mister Gable being my first winner (April 22, 1992). I only drove early on, and leave the steering to the professionals these days.
“My word, Leonard is a good young driver. He rushed my girl out of the gate and then rated her so well in front. I was very proud of the drive,” said Mr Hieronymus.
The record books show that he has trained 40 winners and 95 place-getters since the 1986-87 season. He has earnt $145,505 in stakes.
Mr Hieronymus was educated at Salisbury High School (Nyanda) in Brisbane. He worked on a dairy farm for 15 years before taking up a position as a cane grower in 1991 at North Rivers.
“I had 10 years growing cane before I came to Redcliffe in 2001. I’ve been here since. It was Ralph Phillips from Northern Rivers, who really got me interested in the horses.
“I had a property at Wamuran for four or five years, and all the time I’ve always had one or two horses in work.”
He said the best horse he had trained was the 2000 Cool Hand Nukes black gelding, Norwegian Wood. He was a lovely gaited horse who raced against Blacks A Fake. He won six races. Then there was Silva Spur and Make A Point – both wonderful horses who gave me wonderful memories,” Mr Hieronymus said.
As for Ella Under Fire, she is likely to line up again this Thursday at Mr Hieronymus’s favourite track – Redcliffe Paceway.
His other horse, is the 2015 Modern Art two win pacer, Our Boy Roy.
Ella Under Fire and Our Boy Roy excepted, some of Mr Hieronymus’s best horses over the years have been:
Make A Point 5 wins; Norwegian Wood 4 wins; Silva Spur 4 wins; Bustin Feelz Good 3 wins; Luvu Grazaella 3 wins; Justa Violet 3 wins; Contrary Courage 1 win; and Starzz On High 1 win.
For the record: The surname ‘Hieronymus’ is Danish. “I think the name goes back to my great, great, great grandfather, but I’m all Australian,” Mr Hieronymus said.
Footnote: Mr Hieronymus’s silks are brown and yellow diamonds, with brown sleeves.
