By Christina Bossinakis
In September of 2022, an Ontario-bred by the name of Patches O'Houlihan kicked off his career at Woodbine, winning a 5 1/2-furlong test by 4 1/2 lengths. Less than two months later, 20-year-old Sofia Vives launched her career as a jockey while recording her first victory aboard Bodacious Miss (Bodemeister), also in a 5 1/2-furlong race at the Etobicoke oval. While over a year removed from joining forces, the son of Reload and the South Carolina native both rode the wave of 2023, capping off their respective seasons with a pair of divisional titles under their belts.
For Patches O'Houlihan, a 2023 campaign saw him win six of seven starts, including four stakes headed by the GIII Bold Venture Stakes and GIII Vigil Stakes. Trained by Robert Tiller on behalf of Frank Di Giulio Jr., the homebred ultimately earned the Sovereign Award as Canada's Champion Male Sprinter for his 3-year-old campaign.
Also on an ascendent trajectory last year, Vives won 122 races from 764 starts, including 88 victories at her Woodbine base before concluding 2023 with $3,569,901 in earnings. Her performance during her first full year in the saddle was good enough to earn her a Sovereign Award as the Outstanding Apprentice Jockey, also stamping her one of the finalists in that season's Eclipse Awards.
While each competitor hardly struggled without the help of the other, it is clear that the duo found something in each other over the course of this past season that has forged a meaningful, not to mention lucrative, connection.
“I am so grateful we got the opportunity on him and that I have gotten along with him so well is pretty amazing,” said Vives.
Vives and Patches O'Houlihan's intersection point occurred at Woodbine last spring when introduced via Vives's agent at the time, Jordan Miller.
Sofia Vives guides Patches O'Houlihan to victory in the 2024 Pink Lloyd Stakes / Michael Burns Photo
“In the mornings, it was just a job,” she recalled. “But I learned that he's a completely different horse in the mornings to the afternoons. I was told not to worry about [the morning works] because in the afternoon he will give 110%.”
The duo debuted facing Ontario-breds in the six-furlong Pink Lloyd July 28.
“On race day, he is a beast,” she affirmed. “He shows up and knows what to do.”
Sent off second choice in the Pink Lloyd, named after another champion trained by Tiller, the gelding went to the front and never looked back, rolling home a six-length winner.
Having to work harder defending his title in the Aug. 23 Bold Venture, the champion had to dig deep to score by a neck in the 6 1/2-furlong contest. The pair also repeated in the Vigil ahead of an eyebrow raising score in the GII Nearctic over the Woodbine turf Oct. 5.
“He kind of took me to the outside rail and drifted pretty noticeably,” she recalled.
Despite giving up all that ground, the gelding was able to overcome his transgression, proving he was much the best.
“Everyone is scared to run against him and he deserves the respect because he's earned it.”
Favored in the Nov. 16 GII Kennedy Road, the team finished second, 3/4 of a length behind by 3-1 second choice Nobals (Noble Mission {GB}), winner of last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.
“We drew an inside post, but he broke a half a millisecond slow,” he said. “I had to kind of rush him to get position.”
Despite his latest defeat, Patches O'Houlihan remains likely to garner another title as top Canada's sprinter in 2024.
“[Nobals] was just a better horse in the Kennedy Road, but that takes nothing away from Patches,” she said. “He just got a little outdone that day. It took a Breeders' Cup winner to beat him that day. He's still amazing, no matter what.”
'This is what I've always dreamed of doing'
In a concerted effort to extend her five-pound weight allowance, Vives registered only four wins from 16 starts in 2022 before pressing the pause button. However, that didn't mean that the rider was about to hang out on the beach working on her tan and sipping Margaritas over the winter.
“Last year [2022-23], when I had stopped and got into a gym [in Ocala], the coaches really helped me out–strength wise and to help me gain some weight. I was very motivated to get back to racing,” she explained.
She continued, “At the beginning of [2024], I knew I was going to lose the bug but you have to take advantage of all the opportunities that you can get along the way and just go day-by-day with it.”
Despite all her success during her title-earning campaign in 2023, there was one thing that had escaped her–win at the black-type level. However, that void didn't take long to fill, courtesy of the Josie Carroll-trained Sabatini (Uncle Mo) in Woodbine's Star Shoot Stakes last April.
Vives added eight more races at the stakes level in 2024, including the Woodbine Oaks with Kin's Concerto (Mendelssohn) and the GII Connaught Cup Stakes, courtesy of Cruden Bay (Big Screen). In addition to a quartet of stakes wins with Patches O'Houlihan, she also reconnected with Sabatini last summer to take the GIII Selene.
“Even after I lost the bug [in August], I would show up with a smile on my face and be nice and polite,” she said. “The road is never clear up ahead. You don't always know which path to take and you always want to take the right one, but you have to go with your gut feeling.”
Vives in an enviable position where she could potentially win another Sovereign Award as the leading Canadian apprentice rider in 2024, largely due to her decision to curtail her 2022 season immediately after recording her fourth win. A total of nine riders have accomplished the repeat, including Kazushi Kimura in 2018-19.
With less than a month remaining in 2024, the rider has remained on pace with her 2023 stats, winning 85 races at a 16% clip while amassing over $3.2 million. Principally riding in Canada, she also ventured south of the border to ride in New York and Pennsylvania.
She currently ranks fourth overall at Woodbine with 66 wins and over $2.9 million in earnings.
“Numbers is not a big thing for me because I don't like to set numbers as goals just because if you don't meet them, you feel very let down,” she explained. “I just want to stay positive and be happy. Also, continue to do right by the horses, owners and trainers. That's a pretty good goal for me.”
The 22-year-old has moved her tack to Aqueduct this winter, a move that appears to be the most logical for the young rider looking to branch out at this juncture in her young career. Her fiancee, jockey Keiber Coa, is also stationed in New York.
“I'll take it day-by-day and see what doors and opportunities open up and go on from there,” she said. “Maybe I'll get a chance today that will completely change plans for years. I don't know. Right now my brain is a sponge. I want to learn as much as I can from the colony [in New York] and see what happens in the springtime.”
She added, “I would like to maintain what I have built and learn as much as I can. I am new to the New York circuit so I'd like to make some new connections here.”
Highlighting her incoming connections, Vives recently switched her book to John Panagot, also the agent for New York-based Manny Franco.
“I would love to be able to ride in New York, ride at Belmont when that opens up and go to Saratoga in the summer,” she said. “I would love to learn as much as I can from the guys up here. To be able to learn from them is pretty cool.”
'Be an inspiration'
Armed with the pedigree to be a rider, her father Lazaro Vives rode along the Midlantic circuit as a jockey before serving a 20-year-stint at Mark Casse's Ocala farm. The horseman currently works for OBS in Ocala, Florida, where Vives grew up.
Sofia Vives with her parents Lazaro and Marie | Courtesy Sofia Vives
“My dad always told me 'keep your ears and eyes open and your mouth closed,” she said. “You can learn so much from watching and listening. Growing up, whenever I could I would go out to the farm and the track and watch them.”
It was at the Hall of Famer's training center where she received much of her early education as a rider.
“Once I got going, [Lazaro] was breezing a lot of horses for Mark and breaking babies,” she recalled. “It was actually cool to ride right alongside him and learn all the fundamentals from him. He's amazing on a horse and can get the horse to do whatever he wants them to do.”
She added with a laugh, “To be able to see that is both good and bad. It's good because you get to see it close up but it's bad because he makes it look so easy. And it's not easy! He does everything so effortlessly and the horses respond to him so well.”
What was one of the most valuable lessons she learned from her father?
“He had shown me how to break horses out of the gate and I think my dad is one of the quickest riders out of the gate,” she explained. “The race is often won or lost at the gate, so it's nice to have that background with him.”
According to Vives, Casse also played a big part in helping mould her career.
“Mark always said that I could ride races if I would finish school. That was my mom [Marie']s rule too,” she conceded. “[Mark] has always been alongside me and has helped me find my footing at the track. He introduced me to Woodbine and gave me a shot.”
“Mark and Miss Tina [Casse] are always rooting for me and cheering me on. They have been along the whole journey with me. If I ever have questions, I know I can reach out and they'll pick up right away. They are family to me.”
Vives also points to other notable racing figures who influenced her career path.
“Growing up, I wanted to be like Johnny Velazquez and Mike Smith,” she said. “Just to ride next to them is an honor.”
“I really love watching Johnny ride. He always has himself in a good spot and he always gives the horse the best chance to win. He makes them all look good and he looks good on all of them. That's what I aspire to be like one day.”
While following the path and success of the legends of the game, Vives hopes that she too might one day be in the position to make a difference to a young up-and-coming rider.
“I believe you should be the person that you would want other people to want to be like as they got older. Be an inspiration. Do right by the animals. Thank God for all your blessings and carry on with the day.”
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