Gus Hooke’s Jeweller was a three-year-old when it won its first race at the Walcha Picnic Race Club’s meeting in February 1893.
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The horse had a rapid rise to fame to become highly fancied for both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups of the same year.
Hooke paid 50 guineas for the untried colt at the Tocal sales and sent it to Sydney where, in 1892, it raced without merit under the name of Limerick.
It was returned to Hooke by trainer James Monaghan with the comment that it was unlikely to develop into a useful racehorse.
The horse was turned out at Tia River Station where it served a few mares of moderate ability before being renamed Jeweller and put back into work in preparation for the 1893 races at Walcha.
It carried 145lbs (66kg) to win its first race, a Maiden Plate, at the Europambela Picnics by an impressive margin on Wednesday, February 15, 1893.
It went on to win again on the same day, taking out the President’s Gift, also by a big margin. It then raced on the following day enjoying a comfortable win in the Ladies Gift.
Jeweller backed up to race again at the Walcha Jockey Club’s annual meeting on the following Monday and Tuesday.
The horse again won three races across the two days in effortless fashion by impressive margins equal to those it produced at the Europambela Picnic races.
It won the Flying Handicap and Publican’s Purse on the first day and on the second day, the horse won the feature race of the carnival, the Walcha Jockey Club Handicap.
It won twice at each of the Moree, Warialda and Tamworth races during the next eight weeks, before being sent to trainer Isaac Earnshaw in Sydney, where the horse won two races during the AJC Spring Carnival.
Jeweller was then sent to Melbourne, already reckoned to be in with a big chance for the major cup races of 1893.
Jeweller was the unplaced equal favourite in the Caulfield Cup before running an unlucky third in the country’s favourite race, the Melbourne Cup.
It won the Williamstown Cup later in November and returned to Sydney where it won the AJC Summer Cup in December 1893.
After a spell at Maitland, Jeweller was returned to its original Sydney trainer, James Monaghan.
Plans to start Hooke’s well-known horse again in the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups of 1894 were cancelled after it raced below expectations in the months leading up to the prestigious cups carnival.
With its racing career effectively over, Jeweller, was retired to Hooke’s stud at Cassilis.
