NEWS
Kona Gold to live at Kentucky Horse Park
Posted: Monday, November 26, 2007 12:55 PM
KONA GOLD
Benoit & Associates photo
by Pete Denk
Kona Gold, champion sprinter of 2000, has been invited to live the rest of his life at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Hall of Champions in Lexington, and the ownership group of trainer Bruce Headley and Andrew and Irwin Molasky has accepted.
The 13-year-old Java Gold gelding has been working as Headley’s stable pony in Southern California since his retirement in 2003.
“We had a meeting about it because this is a difficult decision for us—because we love this animal so much—but we decided to he belongs to the public,” said Irwin Molasky, father of Andrew. “It’s been such a pleasure to own an athlete like this and be involved in racing. He was such an honest horse and won so many graded races.”
No date has been set for Kona Gold’s arrival in Kentucky, Molasky said.
Kona Gold won the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) at Churchill Downs and set a track record for six furlongs in 1:07.77. He ran in the Sprint five consecutive times from 1998-2002, finishing third in ’98 and second in ’99.
Kona Gold won ten graded stakes and also set the track record for 5 ½ furlongs at Santa Anita Park when he won the 1999 El Conejo Handicap in 1:01.74. He retired with 14 wins and earnings of $2,293,384 in 30 career starts.
Kona Gold is out of the Slew o’ Gold mare Double Sunrise and was bred in Kentucky by Carlos Perez.
“He still gets visitors wherever he is, probably a dozen a week,” Molasky said. “He’s definitely the king of the stable. That’s the way he was since he was a baby. He just had an attitude. He has a terrific temperament, a little feisty still, but if you feed him a carrot, he loves you.”
The Horse Park, owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, lost its most famous resident when two-time Horse of the Year John Henry died on October 8. The Hall of Champions currently has two Thoroughbred residents—two-time Horse of the Year Cigar and two-time Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) winner Da Hoss.
Pete Denk is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer
