Page 70 - January_2023

SPEEDLINES
1955 Champion Three-Year-Old Colt Ridge Butler.
Bubba Cascio, jockey of Garrettsmisspawhuska.
68 SPEEDHORSE January 2023
started by his father-in-law Bill “Caddo” Williams. Campbell later bought out his cousin. The sisters to Opal Wall include Margaret Wall and Viola Wall.
Further proof of who is the breeder of Opal Wall comes when we see her dam is Josephine Johnson, a mare bred by T.T. Johnson. Josephine Johnson was sired by Bowling Green, and this gives Jean Ann Blair a breeding pattern of 3x3 to Bowling Green. The dam of Josephine Johnson was Alma Glyn, bred by Campbell. Alma Glyn was sired by Glyndon and she was out of Amelia Folsom.
Vandy was purchased in 1950 by
Dee Garrett and a mare they called Miss Pawhuska was waiting for him at the ranch. Dee Garrett served in World War II and when the war was over, he returned to Oklahoma to breed horses. His goal was to build a breeding program, and his first real start on that goal was the mare that became Garrettsmisspawhuska.
Garrettsmisspawhuska was foaled in 1946 and was bred by Bill Rowe, who owned Leo at the time. Rowe sold her to Earl Jackson and then he sold her to Dee Garrett as a yearling. Dee started her race career in 1948 and it ended in 1949. She has six official starts with five wins, including the 1948 Oklahoma Futurity.
The legendary trainer and horseman Bubba Cascio grew up around the racetrack as the son of a trainer. He soon became a jockey and at 16 in 1948 he had the good fortune to ride Garrettsmisspawhuska. He told the story this way, “When I was riding in Del Rio in 1948, a man came to the barn one afternoon and he had big boots on that ran to his knee, a big hat, shades and a big cigar. He said, ‘Son, I got a little ole mare around here I sure would like for you to ride for me Saturday, if you don’t have anything in that race.’ I said, ‘No,
I sure haven’t.’ He said, ‘Come on and let me show her to you.’ Well, those old stalls were up off the ground. I had to step up to look over to see her and she was a little bitty ole mare and I will never forget what I said. ‘Boy she’s not very big is she?’ and he said, ‘No, son, but she can sure run.’”
He continued his story. “When we leave the gate, we run about 150 yards I look back and I didn’t see any horses. I thought, hell, my gate had fallen open. I looked back again, and I was about four or five lengths in front of them and she just ran off from those colts. We went from Del Rio to the next meet at Eagle Pass. The first day they announced they would run Skidoo or Skidoo C or something like that, at any two year old on the grounds for $5,000. About the third day this man
the Juarez, Mexico racetrack a year after his second to Pan Zareta at the same track.
The pedigree of Jean Ann Blair is made up of horses that came from C. B. Campbell. Joe Blair’s sire was Bonnie Joe, a stallion used by Campbell. We don’t have a race record
for Bonnie Joe, but we do have information about the running ability of his foals. This
information comes from legendary horseman Olin Gentry, who was the manager of the Col. E. R. Bradley breeding program where some of our story will take place. Gentry rode some of the Bonnie Joe horses and he had this to say in the Bloodhorse magazine in April of 1983. “I used to ride some of the Bonnie Joes...One of them always started sideways as they didn’t have starting gates back then, but he would wheel around and just seem to fall out of there and he’d be on top. I think I won seven races with him when he was 10.”
Bonnie Joe was the sire of a number of interesting horses, including Uncle Jimmy Gray, the winner of 46 of his 138 starts with 26 seconds and 24 thirds earning $10,176. He was bred by Campbell and owned at one time by T. T. Johnson. He was later owned by the U. S. Remount Service, where he was used by several breeders. Some of
the prominent sons of Uncle Jimmy Gray include My Pardner, the broodmare sire of High Glee, the dam of Bud Warren’s great mare 89’er; Major Speck, the broodmare sire of Garcia Flicka, the dam of Ridge Butler, the 1955 Champion Three-Year-Old
Colt; and Tom Mix, the broodmare sire of My Texas Dandy Jr, who is the broodmare sire of Miss Louton, the 1958 Champion Two-Year-Old Filly, the 1959 Champion Mare and the Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.
Bonnie Joe was
sired by Faustus, a son of Enquirer and out of Lizzie G by War Dance. This makes Faustus a full
brother to Mannie Gray, the dam of Domino, and this gives Bonnie Joe a blood affinity with Domino. The dam of Bonnie Joe was Bonnie Rose by Bonnie Scotland, and she was out of Melrose by Childe Harold.
Miss Blair was the dam of Joe Blair. She was bred by Campbell. Her sire was Bowling Green by King Galop and out of Playing Fields by Adventurer. Miss Blair was out of Com-I-Cut by Pursebearer and Com-I-Cut was out of Isbell by Spendthrift.
The dam of Jean Ann Blair was Opal Wall, who appears to be bred by T. T. Johnson of Minco, Oklahoma, as she has several half and full sisters bred by Johnson. The Johnson family plays a role in the life of Campbell as his uncle Montford Johnson got him started in business. Campbell and his cousin E. B. Johnson became partners for a time in the Half Moon Ranch that was
“Well, those old stalls were up off the ground. I had to step up to look over to see her and she was a little bitty ole mare and I will never forget what I said. ‘Boy she’s not very big is she?’ and he said, ‘No, son but she
can sure run.’”...Bubba Cascio
© Bill McNabb Jr. © Speedhorse Archives