Heartwood Branching Out From Deep Roots

A debut consignment of eight in the big catalogue at Saratoga? Saplings just don't spread that kind of shade. Only Heartwood is no sapling; nor even a graft of another tree.

But while many of the fundamentals remain unaltered, from the land to the stock itself, a new name was imperative to show that one of the most resonant brands in Bourbon County has had a reset.

After a combined 24 years working there for Shack Parrish and his family, Juan Aguilar and Sarah Sutherland in April signed a lease on Indian Creek. In some ways, the transition was seamless: Aguilar had been promoted to farm manager in 2021, while Sutherland had served as director of sales since 2009. They knew the place backwards, and would benefit from priceless continuity in stock, staff and clientele.

“It's been a very natural progression for us,” says Sutherland. “We both spent years and years with Indian Creek, developing relationships and growing the client base, and feel very fortunate the way that it worked out with the Parrish family.”

The blessing was that employers and employees found themselves approaching a crossroads at the same time. Parrish was nearing retirement just as his protégés were itching to embark on an operation of their own.

“It's something we'd both dreamed of,” Sutherland says. “I think we work really well together and it's a good balancing act, I think, between our two roles. So we're very fortunate to be able to do it the way that we have, with the continued support of people we've known for so long. Because we love the farm. I mean, it sort of becomes a part of you when you're there for such a long time. Some of the mares we've known since they foaled out. You really become invested in the families, and everyone knows how incredible the land is.”

Aguilar defines those complementary roles. “I guess I'm more like the farm guy,” he says. “I'm a very hands-on person, focused on the day-to-day, while Sarah deals more with relationships, sales, that kind of thing. But we both see the horses all the time, and every decision is made by us both.”

They will return to the Fasig-Tipton Select Sale with high hopes, Indian Creek graduate Barnes (Into Mischief) having achieved the second highest price of the 2023 auction, at $3.2 million.

Yet for a decade or so after Sutherland joined the farm, Saratoga was never on its agenda. “Then we took a few up in like 2018 or 2019, and it was tough,” she recalls. “But I think each year we learned a little more, and now we're confident that we can bring some of our top stock and be rewarded. The last couple of years it's worked out super: horses have sold well, they've gone into great programs, and they've performed.”

A Saratoga yearling notoriously requires a sound temperament.

“It's a lot, for some of them,” Sutherland accepts. “It's not a frantic pace, but there's a lot of atmosphere up there: it's several days of showing and people take their time looking. Most of these horses have never left the farm. But we have an education in place that'll serve them well, not only at the sale but beyond, when they go to be broken and move on to the next stage.”

Interest is guaranteed for the brother to Barnes, offered as Hip 136, their Flightline half-sister having brought $1.1 million last year.

“His brother is quite different from Barnes,” comments Aguilar. “He's more of a two-turn looking horse, but he's really, really nice as well.”

The consignment (which has lost Hip 122) also features a Justify half-brother to Carl Spackler (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) [133].

“He has a lot of charisma,” Sutherland says. “Carl Spackler has those great markings but this colt is almost black, like his mother. So he's totally different, but equally exciting. And we have another Into Mischief colt [154], out of a Curlin mare called Beyond Perfection [half-sister to Always Dreaming]. The same cross as Renegade, and a very deep family.

“With all of them we're trying to appeal to top end-user programs. You want to bring quality stock, and hope they get enhanced to help your mare down the road. Getting into good hands is everything. And when people buy into these families and do well, they're excited to come back and see what else there is.”

Heartwood | Equi-Sport

That return business is based on confidence that track performance has its foundations in the way horses are raised.

“We try to leave them be horses,” Aguilar explains. “They're out most of the time, building strength and stamina. They come up every day, of course, get fed and checked. But we just try to stay out of their way. Each horse has its own identity and I don't treat them all the same: one might need a little more TLC than another. But these Saratoga horses were all born and raised on the farm, we've know them from day one.”

With a calendar of repeating cycles, every farm needs some kind of base system. This one just bred 160 mares, after all, and typically grazes 90 to 100 youngsters from each crop. But the real foundation for both partners is in their respective upbringing.

Sutherland's father is celebrated agent Mike Ryan, and while she did manage a stint in equine lending at J.P. Morgan, an innate vocation proved irresistible.

“I was never pressured into horses, but found myself skipping school to work the sales,” Sutherland recalls. “Dad was always a huge source of encouragement. A very strong work ethic was instilled into all of us siblings by both parents. But I think the greatest gift he gave us was to say, 'You need to go out and work for other people and see how they do things. Do a 2-year-old season. Go to the track. Learn.' As opposed to just staying at his side and following him around.”

Aguilar, for his part, came with his family from Mexico to Texas, where his father was working with Quarter Horses before moving on to Thoroughbreds in Kentucky.

“I grew up in Lexington and my dad was working on farms since I can recall,” he recalls. “I would go with him at weekends, and loved it so much that I got a job at a farm when I was 16 years old, and never left. I worked my way up, showed horses for a lot of people, did a lot of traveling. I worked for Niall Brennan at the 2-year-old sales for many years. He taught me a lot.”

Heartwood | Equi-Sport

Which, indeed, was how he met Ryan–who recommended him when Indian Creek needed a yearling manager.

“I always took my opportunities wherever I could find them,” Aguilar says. “I came from nothing but I've always loved the business, I like to work and I like to learn.”

But Sutherland stresses that their mutual diligence would only have got them so far without the mentorship of Parrish.

“Shack was wonderful,” she says. “He hired me with no experience, and I worked for him 17 years. So I sort of feel like I grew up at the farm. Very few people have been doing this as long as Shack and his family. He's a mainstay at every sale. Everybody knows Shack and everybody loves him. It was wonderful he was willing to give both of us a chance when we started. He loves seeing young people grow and develop. I'll be forever grateful to him for that. I can't imagine coming up anywhere else. I wouldn't want to have done it any other way.”

When they discussed an appropriate rebranding, Aguilar and Sutherland went to the literal heart of what they were taking on. Until succumbing to lightning, a few years ago, Indian Creek boasted what was thought to be the oldest and largest bur oak in North America.

“But there are several others on the farm that are pretty impressive,” Sutherland remarks. “And the trees in general are I think an indication of the quality of the land. The heartwood is the densest core of the tree. The strength and the structure come from that. It just felt really right. Not to get too corny, but I do think it's very close to how we approach what we do.

“If we can give them that foundation, then we've done our job. We want to be a strong part of the programs for the people that we're involved in. So many people touch a horse's life along the way, and we certainly don't want to be the weak link. We want to be the best that we can.”