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| ROSIE NAPRAVNIK |
| Jim McCue/MJC photo |
by John Scheinman
Anna Rosie Napravnik, a finalist for the 2006 Eclipse Award as outstanding apprentice rider and one of the top jockeys in Maryland, will ride this winter at Aqueduct beginning Saturday.
Napravnik, 20, missed three months after fracturing the tibia and fibula in her left leg in a fall on August 2. She returned earlier this month after intensive therapy and quickly recovered her form.
Napravnik planned on riding in New York last winter but broke her wrist in a spill at Colonial Downs that forced her to the sidelines for four months. Her agent, Robert Klesaris, said the decision this time to move her tack to New York was not made until Napravnik began to ride well again.
“It was a wait-and-see situation, when she would get well and get back,” Klesaris said. “Remarkably, she rode her first race like she hadn’t missed a day. She looks like she never took any time off. What people don’t know is … it was intense therapy. This layoff, unlike her other layoff, she was extremely focused on getting back. She had very vigorous therapy.”
Through November 24, Napravnik has 171 wins from 847 mounts with earnings of $4,134,281. In 2006, she won 300 races and all four meet riding titles at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course.
Klesaris said his goal is to have Napravnik ranked among the top five or six riders at the Aqueduct winter meet.
“I feel like it’s a big move, but I feel like I’m so ready for it,” Napravnik said. “I’m so focused and feel confident and feel great.”
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