Kona Gold suffered a few minor physical setbacks, including a knee chip as a three-year-old that kept him from the races until May of his four-year-old season in 1998.

Kona Gold returned in January 1999, setting a Santa Anita Park track record for 5½ furlongs in the El Conejo Handicap with a time of 1:01 3/5.

(The runner-up Big Jag, who chased Kona in vain throughout the stretch, went on to trounce his field in the prestigious Dubai Golden Shaheen that March.)

After spending several years as a stable pony for former trainer Bruce Headley, he became a permanent resident of the Kentucky Horse Park in 2008 after the death of John Henry.

[1] Kona Gold was euthanized on September 25, 2009, at the age of 15 after fracturing his left front leg while exercising in his paddock at the Kentucky Horse Park.