Kona Gold Sharp

The national sprint division got a big boost Sunday at Hollywood Park with the return of Kona Gold.

Making his first start since Nov. 17, the 8-year-old gelding looked like his old self in capturing the $107,500 Los Angeles Handicap, beating 2-1 second choice No Armistice and four others.

The 4-5 favorite and 125-pound highweight, Kona Gold earned his first Hollywood Park victory in only his second start at the track. He hadn’t been seen in Inglewood since he was a distant second to Regal Thunder in his career debut more than four years ago.

Taking advantage of an extremely quick pace (21 2/5 and 43 4/5 for the half-mile), the son of Java Gold and jockey Alex Solis moved up along the rail around the turn, swung out into the stretch and from there it was only a question of how much he was going to win by and the final time. The margin was 1 1/4 lengths, but Solis had taken a hold of the veteran approaching the wire and the six furlongs were completed in 1:08 3/5.

Trained by Bruce Headley for a partnership that includes himself and Andrew and Irwin Molasky, Kona Gold earned his 13th win in 24 starts and pushed his earnings to $2,133,864.

Depending on how the horse came out of the race, Headley indicated Kona Gold could make another appearance at Hollywood Park in the $300,000 Triple Bend Handicap at seven furlongs July 6.

If not, he will head to his favorite track--Del Mar--with the primary goal being another win in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Kona Gold won the race in 2000, then was seventh as the 7-2 favorite in last year’s renewal at Belmont Park.

“He proved that he wasn’t losing a step,” said Headley. “He had tailed off last year, he’d had enough racing. Freshening him up did do him good. There’s nothing like the pressure of a race to see if he will run really truly run in the stretch, which he did.”

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Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. had gone a long time between victories in the Cinderella Stakes at Hollywood Park.

Before an upset win on 11-1 shot Magic Smoke on Sunday earlier in the Sunday card, the world’s winningest rider had not won the ungraded race for 2-year-old fillies since scoring with Tourulla in 1978.

Of course, the Cinderella did disappear from the Hollywood Park stakes schedule for 14 years before being resurrected in 1996, but Pincay’s win did continue a trend.

A different rider has now won the Cinderella the last seven years, thanks to Magic Smoke winning by 1 1/4 lengths over 5-2 second choice Little Bit Of Swiss in 1:04 3/5 for the 5 1/2 furlongs.

Global Finance, the 13-10 favorite won the Nursery Stakes three weeks ago, finished last.