Napravnik Among Five Woolf Award Finalists

Veteran riders James Graham, Mike Luzzi, Leslie Mawing, and Corey Nakatani, along with the recently retired Rosie Napravnik are the 2015 finalists for the Santa Anita George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, the track announced Nov. 20.



The winner will be announced on HRTV in February following a vote of their peers nationwide. A trophy presentation is to follow in March at Santa Anita Park, which has held the Woolf ceremony since 1950.



The Woolf Award is presented to a different jockey each year, recognizing those riders whose careers and personal character earn esteem for the individual and the sport of Thoroughbred racing. The winner's trophy is a replica of the life-sized statue of the legendary jockey, which adorns Santa Anita's Paddock Gardens area.



Woolf, who died following a spill on Santa Anita's clubhouse turn Jan. 3, 1946, was regarded as one of the top big-money jockeys of his era. Known affectionately as "The Iceman," he was revered by his colleagues, members of the media, and fans across America as a fierce competitor and consummate professional who was at his best when the stakes were highest.



The 2015 Woolf ballot features five highly regarded riders who have plied their trade on both racing's biggest and smaller stages with honor and distinction.



Graham is a 35-year-old native of Dublin, Ireland. He has established himself as one of the top jockeys in the Midwest.  A two-time leading rider (2011, 14) at Arlington International Race Course, Graham has consistently been among the leaders at the Chicago area track dating back to 2004. After breaking his maiden July 1, 2003 at River Downs near Cincinnati, he won his first stakes race aboard 2-year-old filly Berbatim in the Canterbury Park Lassie in 2004. Graham won his first grade I at Keeneland in 2011 aboard Hot Cha Cha in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup.



America's Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey in 1988, Luzzi has enjoyed a highly successful career with 3,420 winners through Nov. 19. A 45-year-old native of Wilmington, Del., Luzzi grew up near Delaware Park and was raised in part by his grandfather, legendary trainer Buddy Raines.  Two of Luzzi's biggest early stakes winners were trained by Raines, as Timely Warning took both the 1991 Maryland Million Classic at Pimlico and the grade I Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont Park. A regular on the New York Racing Association circuit since 1994, Luzzi is a two-time winner (1994, 2001) of the prestigious Mike Venezia Memorial Award, an honor given annually to a New York-based jockey who exemplifies extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship.



A native of Johannesburg, South Africa, Mawing became a jockey in the United States, breaking his maiden at age 20 at Les Boise Park in Boise, Idaho, on June 19, 1994. Currently based at Golden Gate Fields for the winter, Mawing is also leading rider at Emerald Downs, near Seattle. Emerald's leading rider in both 2011 and 2014, Mawing registered one of the biggest wins of his career Aug. 24 when he rallied favored Stryker Phd from last to first to take the Longacres Mile (gr. III) for trainer Larry Ross.  Well-traveled and respected, Mawing also rode regularly at the Los Angeles County Fair in Southern California, as well as in Minnesota, Ohio, and West Virginia. Through Nov. 19, Mawing has 2,239 career wins.



Nakatani has been considered one of America's top jockeys for the past 25 years, riding with a combination of intense desire and talent en route to 3,748 career winners through Nov. 19. His highlights include 10 Southern California riding titles and 10 Breeders' Cup wins. Born in nearby Covina, Calif., the 44-year-old Nakatani, who had no previous racetrack background, began working with horses at age 16 and broke his maiden with his very first mount at Agua Caliente, Mexico, in 1988. A tremendous finisher, Nakatani is a great judge of pace and is considered by many to be one of the best grass riders in the country. He is the second leading all-time stakes rider at Del Mar.



Following her win aboard Untapable in this year's Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (gr. I) at Santa Anita Oct. 31, riding sensation Napravnik stunned the racing world by announcing on national television that she would retire from riding to "start a family" following the remaining Breeders' Cup races the following day. Stating later that she was seven weeks pregnant, Napravnik said that she was looking forward to motherhood and her new role as an assistant to her husband, Thoroughbred trainer Joe Sharp, who is based in Kentucky. The 26-year-old Napravnik began riding at age 17 in Maryland; she retires with 1,878 wins from 9,715 mounts. Her major stakes wins include two Breeders' Cup victories and two triumphs in the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I).