Counselled brings $80,000 at Keeneland

The three-year-old colt COUNSELLED (A.P. Indy) attracted a final bid of

$80,000 to highlight the penultimate session of the Keeneland November Breeding

Stock Sale in Lexington, Kentucky, on Sunday. Dr. Oscar Benavides, agent, signed

the ticket for the topper, who was consigned by Cardinal Stables. Selling as Hip

No. 5166, the dark bay colt was offered as a racing or stallion prospect.

Counselled is out of multiple Grade 1-winning

champion Countess Diana (Deerhound), winner of the 1997 Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Fillies (G1), Spinaway S. (G1), Alcibiades S. (G2) and Schuylerville S. (G2). The

Kentucky-bred sophomore is a full brother to Mama Nadine, who took the

2006 Little Silver S. at Monmouth. He descends from the same female family as

two-time Grade 1 heroine Exogenous (Unbridled), as well as leading Horse of the

Year contender and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) star Curlin (Smart Strike).

A $900,000 yearling at the 2005 Keeneland September sale, Counselled has

compiled a 9-2-1-1 mark to date, with earnings of $37,360. He last raced in September

at Presque Isle Downs.

On Sunday, 169 horses were sold for $1,432,300, an increase of 35.9 percent

from the comparable session in 2006, when $1,053,600 was realized by 125 horses.

The average crept up 0.5 percent, from $8,429 to $8,475, and the median climbed

15.4 percent, from $5,200 to $6,000.

With 14 sessions in the books, 3,267 horses have changed hands for a sale

record $340,203,700, posting an average of $104,133 and a median of $35,000. The

gross shows an increase of 8.4 percent from this time last year, when 3,147

horses brought $313,843,800. The average has risen 4.4 percent from the $99,728

reported in 2006, while the median remains unchanged.

The auction's final session begins Monday at 10 a.m. (EST). For complete

results, visit keeneland.com.