All signs pointed to Unbridled’s Song in the 1996 edition of the Fountain of Youth Stakes Feb. 24 at Gulfstream Park. The flashy gray or roan colt by Unbridled had closed out his 2-year-old season with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and prepped for the 1 1/16-mile race with a sprint tune-up three weeks earlier at the Hallandale Beach, Fla. track.

True, Unbridled’s Song’s 3-year-old debut could have gone better – he ran second as the 1-2 favorite in the Feb. 4 Hutcheson Stakes – but that was his first race more than three months and at seven-eighths of a mile. Surely the Juvenile winner would be turbo-charged for his second start after the extended time away for trainer Jim Ryerson. 

Unbridled’s Song was the 4-5 chalk in the Fountain of Youth and graded stakes winner Editor’s Note, third in the Juvenile, was the second choice at 5-2 in the nine-horse field. One other starter was at single-digit odds, Victory Speech at 6.20-1, and two horses started the race as triple-digit outsiders: Built for Pleasure at 143.10-1 and Gomtuu at 144.90-1. 

Built for Pleasure rallies from the far outside. (BloodHorse/EQUI-Photo)

Wouldn’t you know it, Gomtuu went right to the front under Walter Guerra and set a comfortable pace, a length clear through the opening quarter-mile. Unbridled’s Song soon moved up to challenge the seemingly hopeless longshot and by early stretch he took command from fading Gomtuu. Victory Speech, however, had something to say about the outcome, and closing from sixth was Built for Pleasure under Gary Boulanger. The trio raced toward the finish line with Boulanger urging Built for Pleasure to a shocking upset on the outside, edging Unbridled’s Song by a neck with Victory Speech another neck back in third.

Stunned owner-trainer Tom Heard Jr. told BloodHorse after the race that he would not have even started Built for Pleasure had he not won an allowance race at the same track and distance 12 days earlier. It took Built for Pleasure, a $40,000 purchase as a 2-year-old, 1:43.64 to pull off the biggest shocker in Fountain of Youth Stakes history, returning $288.20 for a $2 win bet while upsetting Unbridled’s Song, a $1.4 million auction purchase the previous year.

“Frankly, I thought the Florida Derby was going to be too tough for us because for some time I thought Unbridled’s Song was the best horse in the country,” Heard told BloodHorse. “I may have to redo my thinking.”

Unfortunately, Heard’s initial suspicion turned out to be correct – the Florida Derby was too tough for Built for Pleasure. He finished a well-beaten seventh in the Florida Derby and Flamingo Stakes and then was 19th in the Kentucky Derby. Built for Pleasure lost the final 23 starts of his career with a pair of thirds in allowance races his best subsequent efforts. 

Unbridled’s Song went on to win the Florida Derby by 5 ¾ lengths and the Wood Memorial Stakes by 1 ½ lengths. He led by two lengths after a mile in the Kentucky Derby before fading to fifth. Editor’s Note would go on to take the Belmont Stakes that June.

Built for Pleasure did not go on to the achieve the success of either of his vanquished Fountain of Youth foes, but on that February day at Gulfstream the Homebuilder colt and his connections enjoyed an unforgettable moment on the Kentucky Derby trail.