Page 32 - August 2022

named Old Pueblo. When Jelks asked Ross Brinson to train Old Pueblo, his barn was full so he recommended Robert Wheeler
to take the colt. They were very successful, winning 10 of 13 starts including the Starlet Stakes at Hollywood Park. Old Pueblo sired Wee Folk, a sire of Quarter Horse runners of $757,003, with his big money earner being Miss Ooo Wee, winner of $196,269. She won the 1972 Kentucky Futurity and the 1974 Peninsula Stakes. But her most significant finish was a second in the 1972 All American Futurity.
During the first interviews with the Brinsons when Little Request was listed
as a stakes winner for Ross, that led to
the picture of the Brinson boys and Little Request. They remembered Little Request as an easy-going horse that could be ridden around the shed row. The boys were attired in jockey outfits in the picture and they both grew up to serve as jockeys, with Clay riding horses like Savaii and Gary on Paisley Print for their dad. This led to the idea of telling the story of Little Request.
Clay recalled how his dad became the trainer of Little Request. “He was bought out of the September Keenland Sales in Kentucky as a yearling in 1951. I don’t know exactly how much they gave for him, but it was in the neighborhood of about $8,000 to $10,000. It seems that Dad said they paid $8,000, but we were just kids
and it is hard to remember. The new owner was Joe Palmisano from Phoenix. He then added this about Palmisano, “He died at the Keeneland sale maybe two or three years after he bought Little Request. He died from bleeding ulcers.”
Little Request had a very good year as a two year old, but later faltered in his race
career. Clay remembered, “He won the Starlet Stakes at Hollywood Park which later became the Hollywood Futurity. The Starlet was a very important race.”
He won two stakes in 1952 in the Haggin Stakes and Starlet Stakes, both at Hollywood Park. The Haggin Stakes was at 5 furlongs and he set a New Track Record for the distance in a time of :57 1/5. He then won the Starlet Stakes at 6 furlongs. At that time, the Haggin was a prep race for the Starlet and has been won by horses like Tomy Lee, who won the 1959 Kentucky Derby as well as the Haggin Stakes at the age of two. The
racing gods were not with Little Request
as he fell off in his three- and four-year-old years. The overall race record shows that he made 32 starts with five wins, three seconds and five thirds earning $51,275.
Clay explained what happened next, “Little Request had issues later in his three- and four-year-old years due to injuries and other issues that brought him down into the claiming ranks. I think my dad lost him in a claiming race.” He continued, “When he couldn’t race anymore the people that had him came to my dad and said, ‘Do
you want to buy the horse? You know the
Little Request
was purchased
by Mickles Valley View Ranch, who also owned 2-time Champion Rebel Cause (shown).
30 SPEEDHORSE August 2022
SPEEDLINES
Old Pueblo, co-owned by Stakes winner Miss Ooo Wee, shown winning the 1973 Santa J. Rukin Jelks, was the sire Wee Folk, who sired Barbara Handicap at Los Alamitos.
of . . .
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Los Alamitos
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