Sharp recovering after surgery to remove brain tumor

Trainer Joe Sharp had surgery to remove a benign brain tumor Thursday at a hospital in Houston but is recovering well and expects to “be back at track by the end of next week,” according to social-media posts from his wife, the former jockey Rosie Napravnik.

Sharp, 35, was scheduled to have the tumor removed earlier this year but the surgery was delayed because of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Napravnik said. The trainer had been suffering from acute spells of dizziness since last year, and the tumor was initially diagnosed as vertigo, Napravnik said.

The tumor was an acoustic neuroma, Napravnik said. Acoustic neuromas are located near the inner ear, and they can affect balance and hearing, according to medical websites. The operation to remove the tumor took 10 hours, according to Napravnik.

“It’s heartwarming to see the overwhelming support from the racing community,” Napravnik said on her Twitter page late Thursday night. “We thank you! In true Joe Sharp form he expects to be back at the track by the end of next week.”

Sharp had a meteoric rise after first taking out his training license in 2014, saddling 100 winners from 554 starts in 2015, mostly in the claiming ranks. Earnings from his mounts broke the $4 million mark in every year from 2016-19.