THERE THEY ARE! at Nfld

It may have been a simple "And there they are" from Northfield Park announcer Greg Young as the winner crossed the wire in the 13th race at that track Wednesday night, but it should have been "AND THERE THEY ARE!" as 132-1 Starlite Player shocked the field after going a huge mile.

Winning just his 25th career race as a driver, 29-year-old Mike High overcame a parked-out-the-entire-mile journey from post five with Starlite Player to win by a half-length over TE's Flash in 2:00.2. It was a career best for the 5-year-old son of Polo Player, who previous lone victory came back on Aug. 13, 2004, at the Croton fairgrounds in Ohio.

High also trains and owns Starlite Player, having purchased the stallion last month. After finishing second in a qualifier at Northfield in his first start for High, Starlite Player raced at Lebanon Dec. 28 where he finished seventh at 3-1. High brought his charge back to Northfield Jan. 3, where he finished a distant ninth--beaten 27 1/2 lengths--at odds of 80-1 in a $6,000 claimer, the same class he won in Wednesday while returning $266.20 for a $2 win ticket.

Starlite Player made just seven starts as a 2 year old in 2004, with two thirds added to that single victory. He went winless in nine attempts in 2005, and then last year made just that one start at Lebanon. His career earnings now stand at $6,332.

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