Back from the brink: from career crisis to Group 1 glory

Adam Hyeronimus knows the clock is ticking faster than he would like on his career as a jockey, just as he gets to a place which would be the envy of riders around the country.

The 35 year old won a Group 1 for Godolphin last weekend on Attica in the Spring Champion Stakes, and will be out to add another in blue when he rides the Coolmore Stud Stakes favourite Beiwacht on Saturday, on which he has already won the Golden Rose this spring.

But a couple of years ago, when his weight swelled to 75 kilos during a betting ban, Hyeronimus thought he might not see a raceday saddle again.

“I know I’m not going to be doing this forever, my body won’t let me do that,” said Hyeronimus, who is restricted to rides at 56kg & above.

“I have maybe another five years, so when opportunities like this spring happen, you have to make them work.”

Almost as an afterthought he adds: “I didn’t think I would ride again a while ago.”

Hyeronimus was born to ride, being the son of Craig, a jockey himself, but nothing has come easy to him, mainly because he is a heavyweight rider.

He has been a part of the Sydney riding ranks for two decades, but never at the level he is now. His talent has finally been recognised in the past couple of years as he climbs back from a career low. He has 126 wins, including five Group 1 winners, since his enforced layoff and has earned his place on the Group 1 stage.

It is something he is justifiably proud of, but he also remembers wise words from his father.

“Not many jockeys make it in Sydney without winning an apprentices’ title. I have just worked hard and stuck at it,” Hyeronimus said. “That’s how I got here and sticking to what my dad drilled into me as a young rider.”

“I used to think it was shit what he would tell about the basics, now I know he was right.”

”They are what hold me in the good stead.”

It’s a different Hyeronimus since he returned from his ban, focused and motivated to take his final chance, and he attracted support from the right people, which has led to three of his six Group 1 wins being for Godolphin.

“I was lucky to get a couple of chances from James Cummings and Joe Pride,” he said.

“James put me on Tom Kitten last year [in the Spring Champion Stakes] and gave me chances and it worked out, while he was at Godolphin and it has continued this season.”

“Joe has been there since I started riding at Randwick but we have built a good relationship in the last year. He has a very good one in Attica, and then there’s Headley Grange, but it’s the other rides I get from him as well.”

”I find I work well with him and way he trains.”

What a finish to the Moët & Chandon Spring Champion Stakes Day 🔥🔥🔥

Attica rattles home to run down Shangri La Boy in a thriller to the $2million Group 1 🤯@PrideRacing and Adam Hyeronimus grab another major pic.twitter.com/9fW9QadJzx

— Australian Turf Club (@aus_turf_club) October 25, 2025

Jockeys depend on partnerships with trainers and Hyeronimus has always been at Tulloch Lodge, but it’s outside of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott’s team where Hyeronimus has made his name this spring.

He has stuck with Beiwacht since it joined the Chris Waller yard.

The premier trainer is known for doing the best for his horses when it comes to jockeys, and could have put anyone on the Group 1 colt.

It is another vote of confidence in Hyeronimus, who won the Silver Slipper on Beiwacht for Cummings as a two-year-old.

He has been the only man in the saddle this spring as the colt has fulfilled his Group 1 potential.

“We knew he was very good, but he just had to put it together,” Hyeronimus said. “I was always worried about getting him to come back and relax and that’s what he’s learnt to do.”

“He isn’t overdoing early. He always had a kick for me but now there is more left in the tank.”

“You saw how good he is in the Golden Rose. He is only getting better.”

Hyeronimus will also ride Firestorm for Waller in the Empire Rose and return to Sydney on Tuesday to continue his association with Headley Grange, which is favourite for the Big Dance.