Bali Ha'i..or What David Cassidy Really Loved Doing

There is not such a place as Bali Ha'i, it's a mystical island, visible on the horizon, but not reachable, and the song about it, a song  about dreams is from 1949 , from a musical called South Pacific ,written by Richard Rogers & Oscar Hammerstein II. It was one of the songs David Cassidy knew and loved from an early childhood, and he made a great cover of it in 1973. One of my fav David Cassidy's songs..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtApiCz_GFw

This is a post about dreams..

I believe that we don't really change during our lifetime. For example as a child I loved exactly the same things as now. I loved listening to and telling stories, books, music and water..Any kind of water ..the smallest pool, a river, a pond ,a lake, a sea or an ocean..I was the happiest left alone ,somewhere near water, with a book and a transistor radio..Now it's the same, only not a radio but a good headphones. And I believe that when we want to know what a person loves doing, we shouldn't listen what that person says ,but what really does. Let's take a look what David Cassidy was doing, not what he was talking or writing.

When he was a kid he wanted to be an actor like his father, he loved music, singing and playing..and he loved.. horses..He said 'No one in my family ever understood my fascination' (Dec 1983). It was a true, lifelong passion, which gave him a lot of satisfaction, but also a lot of disappointments, and costed him a lot of money. And I read somewhere how Sue Shifrin said that he had cared more about his horses than..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MMzIPT5ENU

David Cassidy :' I remember staying home with the mumps and seeing the racing movie 'The Homestretch' . I loved the racing scenes and begged my mum and my grandparents to take me to the races.' (October17,2002, Daily Racing Forum) . By the time he was 7 he was riding ponies, took part in races, and became an avid horseback rider. He got his first racing horse when he was 14..

Even when he was very busy , in the early 70s, DC used every opportunity to learn about horses.  His vacation dates generally coincided with the dates of major races. He read a lot about horses on TPF's set, and I've seen some pics of young DC in his car, stopped by fans, and there were books about horses lying on the passenger seat..

At last he decided to try and he purchased his first mare in 1973 at the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association's sale.And he used a different name as he didn't want to be regarded as a celebrity when he attended races or sales.At first, in the 70s he was a breeder and quite successful. In the mid 80s he began racing horses.

As a break not a song..but DC reading Billy and Blaze

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLi1YI1ORno&t=30s

He had horses in the 70s, even in the 80s when he was in debt, in the 90s..and in 2002 DC owned 11 horses and had 7 in training in New York with  Gary C. Contessa, a famous horse trainer , but also a guitar bass player, and  DC's very close friend. And in the first decade of the 21st century David was very often written about bc of his horses..In 2002 , one of his horses, Lady D'Jour, a horse he bought for $8000, earned more than $100 000. In 2004 he bought with his 2 partners a very special horse. When he saw this 2 year colt , he told Gary Contessa 'I have to have this horse' and he got it for $ 210 000. David renamed that horse Mayan King.

Everyone had great expectations  for that wonderful animal. He won in every race he took part in, but he suffered an ankle injury 6 weeks before The Kentucky Derby, and was never the same. 

In 2006 DC was ranked 56th as a North American Horse Breeder..But in November he sold some horses to dissolve a partnership, also Mayan King..

When in 2005 he was chosen as a speaker for inducting famous trainer Nick Zito into the National Museum of Racing Hall Of Fame, he said during his speech that : 'No matter how I was busy, my contract always stated that I  got a week off from August 7 to 14 so I could  attend Saratoga..'

And the pic ? For David Cassidy it was always Saratoga, to the end and forever, for me - Gulf Of Aqaba..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm4BrZjY_Sg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_nikolaj/6156241010