David Cassidy on the Web
Cassidy is hopeful he has a Derby star
March 24, 2005
By Tom Pedulla
USA TODAY
David Cassidy knows how it feels to be a young sensation, having starred in The Partridge Family in the 1970s. He's performed on Broadway, and he's a draw in Las Vegas.
Actor David Cassidy is part owner of Mayan King.
While he appreciates the entertainment success, other forces drive him now.
"If I could win the Kentucky Derby," he says, "there would be nothing on the face of the earth, nothing other than the birth of my son 14 years ago, to compare to the thrill and the high of it. To say it's a dream, it's beyond that."
Cassidy, 54, will have a better idea Saturday whether his dream has a chance of coming true.
He is part-owner of Mayan King, a talented but raw 3-year-old who he competes in the $500,000 Lane's End Stakes (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.
Being in the breeding business since the 1970s, Cassidy understands the odds against having a 3-year-old bring home the roses.
"Some of the best breeders in the world have been trying to do it for 50 years," he says, "and they haven't been able to do it. It's catching lightning in a bottle."
Mayan King was scheduled to make his debut at Saratoga Race Course in New York last August when an ankle injury forced a change of plans.
The son of Stephen Got Even finally went to the gate for trainer Gary Contessa at New York's Aqueduct Park on Jan. 28, winning at 6 furlongs. He then won a 1-mile allowance at Aqueduct on Feb. 26.
He has never faced the caliber of horses, however, that he will meet in the Lane's End and is a 15-1 long shot for jockey Joe Bravo in a field of nine headed by 5-2 favorite Spanish Chestnut.
"It's a lot to ask of a horse for lack of experience," Cassidy says, "but he doesn't lack talent and heart."
He was drawn to Mayan King when he watched him work out before a sale for 2-year-olds in training last March in Florida.
Cassidy told prospective partners he was prepared for bidding to reach nearly $400,000.When the auctioneer's hammer dropped at $210,000, he was ecstatic.
"It was the only time I high-fived somebody in the sales ring," he says. "The day we bought him, I thought he was a Derby horse."
Others will come around to that rosy thinking if Mayan King should extend his record to 3-for-3 in the 1 1/8-mile Lane's End. The field includes Magna Graduate, who comes off a victory in the John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway, and Texcess, who won the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot as a juvenile.
Magna Graduate gained valuable experience by making five starts at 2. "The seasoning is there," trainer Patrick Byrne says. "It's just a matter of whether he can move forward in the Lane's End."
Byrne is optimistic that will happen. "He's coming along at the right time," he says. "I know a lot of guys say that, but I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."
Texcess trainer Paul Aguirre hopes the removal of blinkers will help his youngster relax.
As for Cassidy, a show at a Connecticut casino will keep him from being at Turfway Park. He's keeping his schedule free for the May 7 Kentucky Derby, though.
