Boulanger Recalls $288 FOY Upsetter Built for Pleasure

By late February of 1996, South Florida's betting public had seen plenty of a nondescript horse named Built for Pleasure. Starting at 2, the Florida-bred son of Homebuilder had made seven of his nine career starts at either Gulfstream Park or Calder Race Course, winning twice, and had already raced three times in the first six weeks of his 3-year-old season. So, when the Fountain of Youth (G2) rolled around, having attracted a star-studded cast to Gulfstream led by Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Unbridled's Song, a horse touted by many as the one destined to end a Triple Crown drought that would last for another 19 years, little if any attention was given to Built for Pleasure— until the race was over. Owned and trained by 78-year-old Tommy Heard Jr., Built for Pleasure got an ideal trip under two-time Calder riding champ Gary Boulanger to run down the heavy favorite and earn the first stakes victory of his career in the prestigious Triple Crown prep by a neck at odds of 143-1, still the biggest upset in the race's history. "People ask me about it all the time. They're like, 'What's the biggest winner you've ever had?' Built for Pleasure. Fountain of Youth. 1996," Boulanger said. "It's something that you'll never forget. It's something that's always part of your history. It's a blessing." The 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth, the next step for 3-year-olds on the road to the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) April 1, will have its 77th running March 4. Built for Pleasure remains the only horse to have a win payoff in triple digits—$288.20—breaking the previous record of $88.40 set by Green Gambados in 1974. "It was amazing. You didn't even know what his real number was, because it only showed him at 99-1 when we went into the paddock," Boulanger said. Unbridled's Song headed to the Fountain of Youth having run second in the Hutcheson Stakes (G2) at seven furlongs at Gulfstream to open his sophomore campaign. The Hutcheson winner, Appealing Skier, who also won the 1995 Laurel Futurity, would be back for another run. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas entered the pair of Editor's Note, a grade 3 winner at 2, and Victory Speech, riding a three-race win streak, including back-to-back allowance triumphs at Gulfstream to start the year. Frisco View, who beat Built for Pleasure in a Gulfstream allowance the month before, Gold Fever, and graded-stakes winners Gator Dancer and Gomtuu completed the field. "Going into the Fountain of Youth we were really confident. I loved him going into that race. I knew he'd probably be a price," Boulanger said. "Gary Stevens was coming in from California to ride (Victory Speech), and I knew he wasn't going to leave Mike Smith alone with Unbridled's Song. My horse had learned how to relax and had a really good move, so that had me really, really excited. Did I think I could beat him? Absolutely. I thought I could beat him if the cards fell the right way. It ended up falling out perfectly." Boulanger had gotten to know Built for Pleasure that winter, riding him four times at Gulfstream prior to the Fountain of Youth. They finished second to favored Seacliff in the Spectacular Bid Stakes (G2) Jan. 7 and ran in two allowance races before the month was out, including the loss to Frisco View. One more allowance was on tap Feb. 12, two weeks before the Fountain of Youth, ending in a front-running head victory in 1:45.36. That form set him up for a neck victory in the Fountain of Youth. "It wasn't a head bob or one of those. I knew I had got by them," Boulanger said. "At the eighth pole, you're just working. You don't know if you're going to get there or not, but he's running, they're running, and the wire's coming. When it did, I knew I got there." Built for Pleasure went on to run seventh after pressing a fast early pace in the Florida Derby, with Unbridled's Song and Editor's Note finishing 1-2 and Appealing Skier sixth. He would never win another race or run in another graded stakes following a 19th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1), in which he was ridden by John Velazquez. "It's fun when you work with a horse and you help develop their real talent and it shows up in a race. I wish we could have done things differently in the Florida Derby," Boulanger said. "That was kind of the downfall for him. It's unfortunate because the horse had a lot of talent to beat those kind he did." Now 55, Boulanger is approaching 3,700 victories, including two of Canada's most prestigious races—the 2001 Queen's Plate with Hall of Fame filly Dancethruthedawn and the 2021 Prince of Wales with Haddassah. The latter came 16 years after Boulanger went down in a near-fatal spill during the Mac Diarmida Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream, in which he suffered a ruptured spleen, broken ribs, and a detached tendon in his left elbow, and needed part of his skull removed to relieve pressure on his brain. Told he would never ride again, Boulanger returned in February 2013 at Tampa Bay Downs, two years after Heard died at the age of 93. Boulanger continues to be a mainstay at Woodbine in Canada, spending the winter with his family in Ocala, Fla. This year, he's excited about a 3-year-old Canadian-bred colt, Twin City, that he thinks could be a Plate prospect for trainer Stu Simon. Boulanger was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2020, three years after receiving the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award, which recognizes a jockey who has made a significant contribution to the sport. Built For Pleasure's memorable upset is "right up there" with his other career accomplishments. "You're proud of things like that. You don't look at it when it really happens, but when they keep talking about it 30 years later, that means something," he added. "Do you have a special spot in your heart for Built for Pleasure? Yeah, of course I do. It's an honor to be remembered from this far back. It was a fun day."