With a week in the books at Aqueduct Racetrack’s 39-day Fall Meet, one new face in the jockey colony has already begun to make an impact, while more are on the way.

With five racing days completed, 25-year old David Cohen, the leading rider at the recently concluded Delaware Park meet, is fifth in the jockey standings at the Big A with four wins.

Cohen will be riding full-time in New York for the first time this fall and winter, after having earned leading jockey honors last winter at Philadelphia Park. Rosie Napravnik, who finished second to Cohen at Delaware, is scheduled to return full-time beginning November 11, while set to join them in New York for the first time is Gabriel Saez, another Mid-Atlantic regular.

“Last winter, I was the leading rider at Philly, left to go to Delaware and was leading riding there. [Coming to New York] is just the route to go,” said Cohen.

One thing that Cohen says should help make the transition to Aqueduct a smooth one for him is the appearance of some of the Mid-Atlantic’s top trainers.

“Cody Autry is going to set up shop here,” said Cohen, who noted that his original wish as a child was to become a trainer. “Tony Dutrow, Steve Klesaris – [New York is] really the place to be, and now’s the time to do it if it’s going to get done.”

Through November 3, Cohen was fourth in the nation with 261 wins behind only Hall of Famer Russell Baze, Ramon Dominguez and Deshawn Parker.

Cohen has his eyes set on a strong finish to 2009 at Aqueduct.

“It’s been a lot of hard work,” Cohen said. “I’ve been riding in a lot of places all year to accomplish it. I’m just trying not to slow down, I have two more months, and I’m really trying to stay to the grind to maintain the spot that we’ve worked so hard to stay at.”

But while the majority of his wins in 2009 came in the Mid-Atlantic, would a successful Aqueduct meet convince him to stay in New York year-round?

“100 percent yes,” he said.

Last winter, Napravnik was the fifth leading rider during Aqueduct’s inner track meet and overall finished with a record of 40-46-41 with earnings of $1.2 million.

Napravnik, who through November 3 had 172 winners for earnings of $4.7 million nationally, is scheduled to begin riding full-time at Aqueduct on November 11.

Joining the Aqueduct jockey colony for the first time will be Saez, 21, who has ridden a number of graded stakes winners for trainer Larry Jones.

“We made the decision to come here because Larry will not be going to New Orleans as he has the past two years,” said Saez’s agent, Ruben Munoz. “We spoke with Larry, and he said New York was the place to go. It’s a chance to meet new people and get new clients.”

As usual, Aqueduct’s Fall and Winter Meets will feature a heavy influx of apprentice riders, among them 16-year-old Ricardo Santana, who was the champion apprentice rider in Panama with 47 winners. In a month of riding at Delaware Park, he rode 17 winners from 95 mounts.

Other apprentices hoping to make their marks here over the winter include Jose Angel Garcia, who is up from Calder Race Course, and Angel Serpa, who had 11 winners at the Meadowlands through Wednesday. Bug riders Kyle Fox and Jackie Davis, who rode here last year, will also be returning.

As the Big A moves closer to the inner track meet, fans can also count on seeing more of Aqueduct regulars Chuck C. Lopez, Channing Hill and Maylan Studart.

Aqueduct Racetrack is open for live racing every Wednesday through Sunday with first race post time at 12:30 p.m. Aqueduct offers free admission and general parking seven days a week with dark day simulcasts available on Mondays and Tuesdays.