Michelle Alley and Lipstick N Stilletos topped the 1D kept up their winning streak on the 2026 year in Round 1 of the 2026 Ruby Buckle Central Derby on Monday.
They clocked a 16.747, worth $6,250 to owner Heather Moeller of Iola, Texas, plus $781 to RR Mistakelly’s stallion incentive program and $781 back to Alley as the breeder.
The run almost looked different— Alley said negative thoughts started creeping in during warmup. She finished warming up the 2020 RR Mistakelly mare, stepped off by herself, and reset.
“I said, ‘Satan, I rebuke you. Get away from me, get out of my life and everything associated with me. I’m God’s child, and He watches over me, and He blesses me with my ability and these incredible horses.’ I just had a sense of peace come over me. And yeah, then we went and won the round.”
Michelle Alley
“I wanted to share that, because the devil does kind of put negative thoughts into our heads sometimes, and I think that plays a part in who wins and who doesn’t. So just always remember that God is with you.”
Stiletto isn’t the easiest mare to ride, Alley said, and she isn’t the fastest in any single part of the pattern. She just doesn’t slow down.
“We’ve kind of found out with the interval timing things that she’s not necessarily the fastest in the straightaway or the fastest in the turns, but she never slows down. She keeps one of the highest rates of speed the whole way. And she doesn’t cheat. She never drops her shoulder to cheat and hit a barrel — but she can go just full speed and cut back. It’s like a G-force. You have to be hanging on. But she just definitely loves her job. She craves it.”
Alley said the mare is also an overachiever, which has its own challenges.
“She tries so hard. I think she’s an overachiever. She wants to do it better and better, and sometimes that’s not always the greatest thing. I’m like, ‘No, just scale it back and you’re okay.'”
Alley has been working on her own conditioning. She rides 10 to 15 horses a day, and her lower back has been a chronic issue. Since Christmas, she’s added Pilates to her routine, along with Ozakton — pure ozone therapy — and exosomes.
“All those things have really, really helped and improved my riding. I feel like I’m in sync with her better. I’ve still hit a few barrels, but I’m not coming off of her, falling off of her. And I don’t feel scared. I feel really confident. I’m going into the summer rodeo run with a much higher level of confidence than I did last year.”
Alley sits No. 6 in the world standings with more than $50,000 won this year, including a win at the two-pen San Angelo Rodeo, where the qualifying round runs in the bigger pen and the short go moves into the Coliseum.
Walking through the Round 1 run for the EQ and Sports Desk, Alley described her usual line to the first barrel, a tight hold off the second, and a lost stirrup on the way home.
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“I lost my stirrup, which was not a good feeling. So I never let go of the horn — I just wanted to stay with her. A lot of times horses like her, if you just stay out of their way, they do better anyways.”
Alley raised Stiletto and offered her for sale as a yearling in the spring of 2020, when some of her training clients pulled horses from her program because of COVID. Heather Moeller and her dad called.
“They’re like, ‘Why are you selling her?’ We had a little conversation, and they bought her — but with the agreement that I would futurity and derby her. And it’s just spiraled from there. I can’t say I’d go back and do it any other way.”
Round 2 of the Derby is in the books at Guthrie. Looking for results and recap? Click here.