Corporate Power edges Skippylongstocking in inquiry-filled Alysheba Stakes win

Corporate Power had to wait out a 10-minute objection and inquiry before the Alysheba Stakes became official, but the 5-year-old son of Curlin had already done the hard part. He fought through a stretch-long duel with Skippylongstocking, held on by a neck, and turned a promising profile into his first graded stakes victory in the Grade 2, $750,000 race at Churchill Downs.

The May 1 renewal at 1 1/16 miles on a fast dirt track was messy from the start and even messier at the finish. Jose Ortiz rode Corporate Power for trainer Steven M. Asmussen, and the winner stopped the clock in 1:41.82 while paying $13.20. Skippylongstocking, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., finished second, another half-length ahead of Baeza in third. After the race, Joseph objected, but the stewards let the result stand.

That decision mattered because the contact was central to how the race was run. Joseph said Ortiz had “herded” Skippylongstocking from the three-eighths pole, while Ortiz said Skippylongstocking came into him late. Either way, the finish forced officials to look twice, and the final ruling preserved one of the tougher wins on the Churchill Downs undercard. For a horse that had first flashed ability when winning the Sir Barton Stakes on the 2024 Preakness undercard, the Alysheba was the kind of breakthrough that had been building for two seasons.

The result also had real stakes beyond one tight photo. Skippylongstocking came in riding a three-race winning streak that included the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and the Essex Handicap, so Corporate Power beat a horse in form, not a soft spot. Baeza added another layer of drama as the morning-line favorite, making his first start of 2026 after joining Bill Mott’s barn following the death of John Shirreffs, and the chart said he was compromised by a bad break before rallying for third.

For Churchill Downs, the race underscored how quickly an older-horse stakes can shift the conversation for the rest of the season. Corporate Power did not just win; he survived a rough, contested running and emerged as a graded stakes winner with something to build on. In a race that demanded toughness and a little luck, he got both.