Hodges Photography / Lynn Roberts

Jockey Rosie Napravnik blossoming ahead of time

April 13, 2011 - There is little about Rosie Napravnik's life that doesn't move with head-snapping speed these days — whether she is guiding a horse through a stretch run or hustling after the morning works to satisfy some of the people who have made her among the most in-demand figures in Thoroughbred racing.

The notion of getting any significant time off was all but squashed when the 23-year-old became the first female jockey to win the riding title at Fair Grounds last month. And as much as Napravnik tries to soak in everything about her right now, she knows the real perspective isn't going to hit until the storm settles down just a tad.

"I definitely feel like I've been putting in my dues, but I also feel like it was just yesterday when I started," Napravnik said at Keeneland Thursday. "Even from last year it's kind of like 'How did I get here from there?'"

Napravnik created her frenetic situation by riding better than she ever has in her life, getting on some of the best horses of her career, and turning virtually every major opportunity in her path into a springboard toward the next big thing.

The jockey colony at Keeneland has long been regarded as one of the toughest in the nation, and this spring's loaded lineup of riders received a boost when Napravnik decided to take her tack there for the full meet for the first time in her burgeoning career.

If ever there was a time for Napravnik to test herself against some of the best in her sport, now couldn't be more ideal. Not only did the Morristown, N.J., native run off with the Fair Grounds meet title — posting 110 wins, 31 more than runner-up Shaun Bridgmohan — she earned herself a chance to ride in her first Kentucky Derby when she guided Pants On Fire to an upset victory in the Grade II, $1 million Louisiana Derby, also becoming the first female rider to capture that race.

This past November saw Napravnik ride in her first two Breeders' Cup races, and on Saturday Napravnik will have a chance to collect the first Grade I win of her career, on Willcox Inn in the $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.

Considering Napravnik only began riding full time in 2005, her ascent is notable for both its speed and the level-headed way she has gone about it.

"I've been riding for less than six years, and every meet I've moved on to I can look back and say, 'Wow, I've improved so much since whenever,'" said Napravnik, who ranks sixth in the nation among all riders with $3,149,529 in earnings through Monday. "I feel like I've been improving since I started. There is never any point where you can stop learning.

Read more: Sun Herald