GORDON ELLIOTT’S UNDENIABLE ALIBI HEADING TO FRANCE
Jan 24, 2025
Friday 24th January 2025 – Improving six-year-old Undeniable Alibi caught the eye in ThoroughBid’s January Sale on Thursday, with Ben Halsall placing the winning bid of £32,000 and confirming the horse will join Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm’s French-based operation.
Halsall, who is an experienced operator in the bloodstock field, saw off competition from a host of bidders and sends Undeniable Alibi to France to continue his promising career.
Speaking shortly after the auction on Thursday, Halsall said: “Undeniable Alibi is a horse I’ve been following for a while and when I saw he was in the ThoroughBid sale, I knew I was going to be in the market for him.
“I’m trying to find horses who mightn’t be good enough for what the big Irish and British owners are looking for in terms of Grade One winners, but who still hold plenty of upside. This horse definitely looks like he could still be progressing and so I’m delighted to have picked him up.
“He’s going to be trained by Noel George in France where the prize money on offer for horses at his level is fantastic and so I’d like to think that purchasing him for £32,000 was quite good business. He joins an exciting young trainer, and fingers crossed it can be a successful purchase.
“Buying through ThoroughBid was very straightforward and simple, and I’ve already got the next sale dates on my calendar.”
Wildcards popular as top lot Ellerton makes £44,000
The January Sale featured two other lots sold over £30,000: Ellerton for £44,000 and Ugo Bingo for £34,000. Both have joined Joe Tizzard and were very successful wildcard entries, only making the catalogue on Tuesday before being sold, paid for and collected on Thursday.
CEO of ThoroughBid, James Richardson, said: “We were delighted by the results of this week’s January Sale, particularly the two wildcards selling so well. It’s a real testament to our platform that two valuable lots can be traded at such short notice, and it just highlights ThoroughBid’s flexibility, speed and efficiency in trading bloodstock.
“Overall, it’s been a great start to the year. We were thrilled to see Ben Halsall pick up Undeniable Alibi to send to Noel George, and we’ll follow his career closely from across the Channel.
“With over 30 lots catalogued and a strong average sale price, we think it’s a great starting point to 2025, and we’re already looking forward to our February Sale on Thursday 27th February.”
ThoroughBid’s next sale will take place on Thursday 27th February – find out more here.