ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The 10-pound apprentice Sofia Vives had an auspicious start to her career at Woodbine last week, recording three wins and three seconds with her first eight mounts. A 20-year-old from Ocala, Fla., Vives has been working for Mark Casse and rode Swinging Mandy to victory for the leading trainer last Saturday among her two wins on the card. Vives is ecstatic with the way have things have gone for her here so far. “I think it was a great start,” Vives said. “I was blessed with good trainers and an amazing agent. I came up here with Mark Casse. I started galloping for him two years ago. He took me to Saratoga my first year. Then, I went down to Palm Meadows with him last winter. I came up here in the springtime with him. I left to go to Saratoga in the summer with him, and I just came back.” Vives is represented by Jordan Miller, the agent for Woodbine’s leading rider Kazushi Kimura. :: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now! “I had a feeling from working with her in the morning that she was going to do well,” Miller said. “She’s great out of the gate and has a very good seat on a horse. Plus, she has a really good work ethic.” Vives has three mounts on Thursday’s eight-race Woodbine card, beginning with Road Map in the opener for trainer Barrington Siddo. Road Map came up empty last time in the mud at Fort Erie and is dropping to $5,000 nonwinners-of-two company after graduating three starts back here for $10,000 on the Tapeta. Trainer Bill Tharrenos will give Vives a leg up on Dixiewish in the second. The 4-year-old maiden placed in 4 of 12 outings and finished fourth and fifth in her last two starts for $7,500, the level at which she’s competing Thursday. Vives rides Shuddacuddawudda in the nightcap for trainer Renico Lafond. The 5-year-old finished up the track in a $15,000 nonwinners-of-three claimer last Thursday and is dropping to a new low in this $5,000 conditioned contest. She had a successful fall campaign on the dirt at Fort Erie that included a handy score in a minor allowance for nonwinners of two. Pluie d’Avril could be favored in the finale on the drop from starter/optional-claiming company in her first try with a claiming tag since last fall. A standout on Beyer Speed Figures, she will be ridden by Keveh Nicholls, who was aboard for Shuddacuddawudda’s last four races. Kimura is drawn inside Shuddacuddawudda and Pluie d’Avril on Is There a Forest, who dead-headed for the victory last out in a $5,000 nonwinners-of-two sprint. Other secondary contenders in the eighth race include Divine Genesis and Gormley Girl, who will be ridden by the leading local bug Slade Jones. The 16-year-old Jones is the front-runner for the 2022 Sovereign Award as Canada’s outstanding apprentice. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.