KP Choice hits $10m in Stakes earnings with dominant straight win
VETERAN campaigner KP Choice added another chapter to his remarkable, durable career on Saturday, August 22, 2026, delivering a dominant performance in the day’s opening race.
The seven-year-old bay horse by Nasheet out of Drop Off broke sharply from the gates in the four-furlong (800m) sprint and simply skittered away from his rivals to score by 3¼ lengths.
Ridden by Robert Halledeen for trainer Winchester McIntosh, the win was KP Choice’s 14th from 63 career starts. More importantly, it pushed his career earnings past the $10-million milestone.
Breaking from the much-preferred wide outside draw, Halledeen guided the seasoned sprinter smoothly toward the centre of the track. Once they passed the dummy rails KP Choice kicked into high gear and cleared the field effortlessly.
He stopped the clock in 49.4 seconds after an opening split of 23.2. Stein (8-1) finished second under Reyan Lewis while 99-1 outsider Undeclared War stayed on for third under Ramon Nepare.
KP Choice benefitted from a key equipment change, racing with the visor added and the tongue tie removed. The adjustment seemed to sharpen the veteran.
The victory also handed trainer McIntosh his second winner from 18 starts this season.
Frequent tag-swapping in the claiming ranks can ruin a horse, but not KP Choice. Passing the eight-figure earnings mark was a fitting statement for a horse that simply knows how to handle his business on the straightway. Age, mileage, and a revolving door of barns have done nothing to dim his competitive fire.