Zipse: Let's remember Foolish Pleasure for the right reasons

This is the second of two columns about the battle-of-the-sexes match race 50 years ago at Belmont Park. Part 1 on Sunday focused on Ruffian.

Sometimes great horses are remembered for all the wrong reasons and unfortunately, Foolish Pleasure is the ultimate example.

Married in time to the tragic death of Ruffian, it has been 50 years since the 1975 Kentucky Derby winner wore the black hat into the match race with America’s beloved filly.

Most remembered for being the other horse, Foolish Pleasure deserves a place in history reserved for only the very good ones, because that is what he was.

Trained by Leroy Jolley, Foolish Pleasure was an unbeaten champion as a juvenile and winner of the nation’s most prestigious race. Still, it was the filly who captured the imagination of legions of loyal fans.

While Ruffian was electrifying the racing world, Foolish Pleasure went about his business of winning races.

A son of What a Pleasure out of the Tom Fool mare Fool Me Not, the handsome bay colt came out early and came out running. After easily winning at first asking at Hialeah Park on April 4, 1974, Foolish Pleasure romped home to a 10-length victory in the Dover Stakes at Delaware Park in his second start.

Proving that he was no flash in the pan, he would rattle off five more stakes wins in succession. By the time he won the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes by six lengths to close out a 7-for-7 juvenile season, the John L. Greer-owned star was a lock for an Eclipse Award and a clear early favorite for the first Saturday in May.

Once again starting his season at Hialeah, Foolish Pleasure raised his record to nine wins in as many starts with wins in an allowance sprint and the Flamingo Stakes (G1). Unlike Ruffian, he could not make it to a perfect 10. A stunning upset as the 1-5 favorite in the Florida Derby (G1) was his first career defeat.

He quickly bounced back by overcoming the 15 post to get up and win the Wood Memorial (G1) at Aqueduct before heading to Churchill Downs as the favorite for the roses.

In his 12th career start, Foolish Pleasure rallied from eighth to win the Kentucky Derby as the 9-5 favorite under rider Jacinto Vasquez. The 1 3/4-length victory over Avatar was his 11th career win.

Hopes for a Triple Crown were dashed when he had to alter course and couldn’t get to the talented Master Derby in the Preakness. A good runner-up in Baltimore, Foolish Pleasure again was favored in the final leg, but his strong late run was narrowly stymied by a game Avatar in the Belmont Stakes.

As good as Foolish Pleasure was, the battle-of-the-sexes match race with Ruffian, which came four weeks after the Belmont, was much more about the filly than the colt.

Fresh off a powerful sweep of the Triple Tiara against her own gender, she was the star and the talk of the race. How would Ruffian do against world-class male competition? Would the girl trounce the boy?

Foolish Pleasure gave the weight allowance of five pounds to Ruffian in the match race at Belmont Park as the nation tuned in. Braulio Baeza picked up the mount on the colt as Vasquez chose to ride the filly.

Abandoning his recent penchant for coming with a late run, the second choice took the race right to the filly through grueling early fractions in the 1 1/4-mile test. It was standard tactics for a match race, but together the pair ran even faster early than expected.

Foolish Pleasure was right on Ruffian’s hip when suddenly the great filly broke down on the backstretch. Her injuries proved catastrophic. Unable to be saved, it was the darkest of days for American racing.

Moving on from the heartbreaking events of July 6, 1975, Foolish Pleasure raced three more times in his sophomore season. Twice second, the busy schedule of the first half of the season likely took a little bit out of Foolish Pleasure, and the improving Wajima was able to wrestle the 3-year-old male championship away from him with a strong fall.

Coming back to run at 4, Foolish Pleasure added four more wins in eight starts to close out his racing career. His most notable victory came when he went to gate to wire and held on over the horse of the year Forego in the 1976 Suburban Handicap (G1).

Despite racing against the very best for three seasons, the champion retired with a sterling career mark of 16 wins in 26 career races.

Foolish Pleasure went on to a successful but unspectacular career as a stallion, siring good horses on turf and dirt. He died at age 22 in 1994 and was voted into racing’s Hall of Fame one year after his death.

A half-century removed from racing’s greatest tragedy, it is Ruffian who always will be the star and protagonist of their magnificent racing careers, and of course, from that tragic afternoon at Belmont Park. Deservedly so, but her outstanding opposition in the match race should not be forgotten either.

One of the many important horses in a golden age of racing, Foolish Pleasure was a consistent, versatile and talented star in his own right. He was all class for three highly successful seasons. Unlucky to have been the other horse in the match race, he was a champion, and he was a hall of famer.