Play With Fire (Oscar Performance) was produced widest into the Pimlico stretch and steamed down the center of the rain-affected turf course to take out Friday's Hilltop Stakes.
Off as the 7-2 second choice in a field scratched down to eight when Complexity Jane (Complexity) dumped jockey Sheldon Russell in the preliminaries, the $85,000 OBS March graduate was content to drop out to the back of the field and was shuffled all the way to last as favored Me Governor (The Factor) took them along at a leisurely clip.
Following the move of her stablemate Sigh No More (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) while still quietly ridden approaching the quarter pole, the Minnesota-bred Play With Fire came wide and whooshed home to easily account for Pretty Lavish (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}). Princess Attitude (Frankel {GB}) enjoyed the run of the race from third and was first to put Me Governor to the sword in the stretch, but lacked the necessary finish and settled for some black-type in third.
A debut winner going long over the Fair Grounds turf course last November, Play With Fire was an even fourth in a main-track allowance in the Big Easy ahead of a third placing in the LaCombe Memorial Stakes back on the turf Mar. 8. She was exiting a fourth in a tough Keeneland allowance Apr. 11.
Play With Fire is the 15th stakes winner for her Mill Ridge-based stallion. The late Bob Lothenbach acquired second dam American Slew for $120,000 at the 1998 Keeneland September Sale and from her bred nine winners, including GSW City Attraction (Vicar) and the dam of SW Grace's Treasure (Rockport Harbor). Streaming Fire was sold for $9,000 in foal to Drain the Clock at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton February Sale, but did not produce a foal and was bred to Unified for her 2025 covering. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
HILLTOP S., $125,000, Pimlico, 5-16, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:39.11, gd.
1–PLAY WITH FIRE, 118, f, 3, by Oscar Performance
1st Dam: Streaming Fire, by Street Sense
2nd Dam: American Slew, by Quiet American
3rd Dam: Slew Song, by Seattle Song
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. ($85,000 2yo '24 OBSMAR). O-Fergus Galvin; B-Lothenbach Stables Inc (MN); T-Brendan P Walsh; J-Flavien Prat. $75,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-0-1, $126,948. *1/2 to Minnesota Miracle (First Samurai), MSP, $243,545.
2–Pretty Lavish (Ire), 118, f, 3, Ribchester (Ire)–Tranquil Storm (Ire), by Oasis Dream (GB). 1ST BLACK-TYPE. (€6,000 Ylg '23 GOFOR2). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners & Bobby Flay; B-Thomas Hassett (IRE); T-H Graham Motion. $25,000.
3–Princess Attitude, 118, f, 3, Frankel (GB)–Keertana, by Johar. 1ST BLACK-TYPE. ($400,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). O-G Watts Humphrey Jr; B-Bryant H Pursuit of Success (KY); T-Victoria H Oliver. $12,500.
Margins: 1, 2, 1. Odds: 3.50, 5.50, 9.50.
Also Ran: Sigh No More (Ire), Obeissante, Me Governor, White Rocks, Pure Majestic. Scratched: Complexity Jane.
🔥 PLAY WITH FIRE ($9.00) wins the $125,000 Hilltop Stakes at @PimlicoRC. This is the first stakes win for the three-year-old filly by @MillRidgeFarm's Oscar Performance. Flavien Prat was in the irons for @brenpwalsh. pic.twitter.com/YXnrMUZV2J
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) May 16, 2025
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
