She was talking about the late Tamworth jockey Darren Jones, who died in a race fall in Warialda in April, after she had won a race named in honour of her father’s favourite and best horse – Akwazoff.

Under Merv Corliss’ guidance, Akwazoff won three successive Gunnedah Cups in 1997-98-99 – a feat unlikely to be matched.

While her father wasn’t able to attend Monday’s Cup meeting, Jeffriess was also thinking of another who couldn’t attend – Jones.

And on Thursday night Jones will be remembered when the Tamworth Jockey Club hosts the Darren Jones Family Appeal at Tamworth Racecourse.

Jeffriess is on the event’s organising committee.

It was when reminded of this night to support Jones’ widow, Sheridan, and their two sons, Jacob and William, that Jeffriess made the “He would have been on Husonique today” remark.

Jones was the stable jockey for Corliss and Jeffriess for about 30 years.

He had left Glen Innes as a teenager to be apprenticed to Corliss, and “was only 16 or 17 when he arrived at home”, Jeffriess recalled. “Would have been there earlier but he broke his leg,” she said.

“He’d been riding a bit of work for Clive Dixon up there [Glen Innes] and had a bad fall.”

She laughed upon recalling Jones as a “big kid” growing up quickly in a racing environment. “Cocky”, “grumpy” and “cheeky” is how she described him in those early days.

More than 300 tickets have been sold for the Darren Jones Family Appeal, which will feature Australia’s leading jockey Hugh Bowman and memorabilia of his most famous mount, Winx, as the star attractions.

Bowman will be a guest speaker, while the Winx memorabilia will be auctioned among more than 100 lots.

Sky Racing’s Greg Radley will host the event, with Bowman and jockey great Malcolm Johnston guest speakers.

Jones died at age 48, after more than 30 years in the saddle yielded more than 1000 winners.