Heartwood Farm made its yearling sales debut a memorable one and kept the Into Mischief express rolling after it sold Hip 136, a full brother to multiple graded stakes winner Barnes , for $4.2 million to Flying Dutchmen early in the Aug. 11 second session of Fasig-Tipton's The Saratoga Sale.
Juan Aguilar and Sarah Sutherland launched Heartwood Farm in April, a Thoroughbred boarding and sales consignment operation located near Paris, Ky., previously operated as Indian Creek, where Aguilar and Sutherland worked together for many years.
Aguilar and Sutherland sold Barnes under the Indian Creek banner at the 2023 edition of the sale for $3.2 million to Donato Lanni, agent for Zedan Racing.
"This just is a full-circle moment. I think these are clients and mares that are just so special to us," an emotional Sutherland said. "I don't know how to describe it.
"Barnes was probably a little bit more forward physically, maybe a little bit of some of that American Pharoah influence coming through. This colt—he's a lovely, stretchy, scopey Into Mischief."
Just 18 hips later, Flying Dutchmen's Hunter Rankin signed for Hip 154, another son of Into Mischief, also consigned by Heartwood Farm, for $3 million.
"They're two extremely special animals, and I think it was really fascinating the last few days to watch them," Sutherland said of Hip 136 and Hip 154. "They complemented each other and I think even strengthened each other. They were so different, but so nice. And I don't know that anybody could really separate the two. It was amazing to see them both thrive in that way—separate but together."
Sutherland said when Rankin, who was the leading buyer of the first session, came to the barn before the sale, he had a hard time separating the two colts.
He said, "I think I have to buy both of them because I can't decide which one to pick over the other. And they truly were equally special horses. I could never have dreamed of something like this to happen."
"He's such a nice horse. We just thought there'd be a couple that we'd really try for and he was one of them," Rankin said of Hip 136. "It was our only bid and our last bid. We're excited about him.
"I thought he was the fanciest horse in the sale, not saying that means he's the best, but he showed himself really, really well. They prepared him great as they always do. Just thought he'd be very expensive just with his pedigree."
Hip 136 was bred by Jeff Drown and Don Rachel out of the American Pharoah mare All American Dream. Barnes was campaigned by Zedan Racing Stables and entered stud this year at Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa.
Don Rachel, CEO of Rachel Contracting, located in St. Michael, Minn., was on-site to see the colt who is very near to his heart, go through the ring.
"All American Dream has been great for us, with some great colts for us, and this one was very hard to sell, because we knew he was a sweetie, but it's just one of those things you've got to do in the business, right? I had plenty of tears for a 60-year-old guy, but it was all for good.
"We're plenty busy with the whole renewable world, with wind and solar world, so that's a big part of our business, but this is our excitement, and there was plenty of excitement tonight."
Rachel, who owns approximately six broodmares that are boarded at Heartwood Farm and Stonestreet Farm, said he had complete confidence in Aguilar and Sutherland.
"We've been with them for a long time, and they're great people," he said. "They've done a great job for us and they showed it tonight."
Hip 154 brought another full-circle moment for the connections of Heartwood as the colt was bred by Santa Rosa Partners, co-founded by Sutherland's dad, prominent bloodstock agent Mike Ryan, and the late Gerry Dilger. He is out of the Curlin mare Beyond Perfection who is a half sister to 2017 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Always Dreaming, whom Ryan and Dilger bred together.
"That's a family that he (Ryan) developed and owned with Gerry Dilger," Sutherland said. "So it's a very special mare (Beyond Perfection) to our families, both us and the Dilgers. It's a feel-good outcome all the way around.
"You get to know these horses so well at home, and we're fortunate to have an amazing group of people that help us at the farm. You get to know and love these animals, and when you have confidence in them and they come up here and show it to everyone else as well, anything's possible. We're just delighted for them to get into such great hands; it's really exciting."
Rankin of Flying Dutchmen, who was the leading buyer of the sale, said its goal is to build a nice stable of colts.
Payton Boersma, chief operating officer of Flying Dutchmen, said Owen Almighty, who ran fifth in last year's Kentucky Derby, fueled the fire to find more talented colts to add to its stable. Signing as Boardshorts Stables, they purchased the son of Speightstown at this sale in 2023 for $350,000.
"Owen Almighty was a big part of the growth of us as a company and us as a family in this business. But it wasn't just Owen, it was every one of those horses that we've had along the way," Boersma said.
"Like a horse named Bobby Magic back at Grants Pass Downs. He's a $5,000 claiming horse, but gosh dang, I can't name very many horses that try harder than him. That kind of stuff, that's what really gets us going. Like Owen specifically, he just leaves it all out there every single time. It's like he's a prizefighter. "
Boersma said every one of its purchases will head to David O'Farrell's Ocala Stud.
"Their operation is fantastic; they do a great job. Then they're going to go to Brian Lynch," he said.
