Breeders’ Cup crowd catches a much-needed rising star

Horse racing is in need of a new star, and she emerged Saturday, wearing a bright yellow one on the front of her silks.

Rosie Napravnik, a red-haired 24-year-old from New Jersey, is poised to make a strong challenge as the Kentucky Derby’s first winning female jockey after directing Shanghai Bobby to a stirring Breeders’ Cup Juvenile victory at Santa Anita.

She is the second winning female jockey in Breeders’ Cup history. Julie Krone rode Halfbridled to a 2003 Juvenile Fillies victory.

“What I proved to myself was I worked hard to get to this stage of my career, and now as long as you have the horse under you, you can get the job done,� Napravnik said.

Although the $2-million Juvenile has produced only one Derby winner since its 1984 debut — Street Sense in 2006 — Napravnik and trainer Todd Pletcher’s colt flashed the kind of heart it takes to win come early May.

Shanghai Bobby surged with front-running Title Contender through blistering fractions of 22.28 seconds at the quarter-mile pole, and 45.55 at the half.

Amid great anticipation that the exertion would cause the favorite to fade, Shanghai Bobby watched his multi-length lead around the three-quarter pole vanish because of a charging He’s Had Enough.

Instead of displaying any anxiety at being swarmed in the high-magnitude event, Napravnik relied on the knowledge she has gained in guiding Shanghai Bobby to five wins in five races.

She recalled a similar race when the horse became “really unfocused, looking at the stands,� acting “a little lost.�

“I knew once Bobby saw [He’s Had Enough], he’d break like no other, that it was just a matter of time,� Napravnik said. “He knew he was back in the heat of the battle … the best horse I’ve ever ridden. He wants to win the race.�

Shanghai Bobby’s second surge gave the favorite the victory by a head.

Runner-up trainer Doug O’Neill, whose I’ll Have Another won the Derby and Preakness this year, called Napravnik a “Grade I rider. Rosie’s brilliant. Even though it appeared she had trouble, her horse didn’t stop.�

Krone, a day after visiting with Napravnik and telling her on Facebook “I’m getting lonely here,� said the jockey’s ride was “fabulous.�

“She’s amazing, young, refreshing and so thoughtful,� Krone said. “She understands the continuity of the race, how much horse is under her. She puts a lot of emotion and thinking into this. She’s the whole package.�

Napravnik rode Believe You Can to this year’s Kentucky Oaks victory and was aboard Pants on Fire in a ninth-place showing in the 2011 Derby. She ranks eighth in the nation in purse money this year.

Racing experts said that with Napravnik’s stock rising, it’s not a given she’ll be back on Shanghai Bobby if a stronger entry emerges by Derby day.

“Todd’s never asked me to take her off [Shanghai Bobby], and it sounds like she likes the horse,� owner Jack Wolf said.

To that, Napravnik cracked: “Oh, you didn’t get the bill.�

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