COMMON GOAL PUTS A “CHOKE” ON QUEANBEYAN RIVALS

KEMBLA Grange trainer Joe Ible, breeder Matthew Sandblow and fellow owners had a common goal with a young horse after he suffered choke.

That was to get him back on track and win races, and it came to fruition when well-named Common Goal broke through at Queanbeyan yesterday.

Ridden by Billy Owen, four-year-old Common Goal took the Maiden Plate (1460m) as a $2 favorite at his sixth start, and second since a drama-filled end to his previous racing campaign.

Choke in horses is a common emergency where food (often dry, pelleted, or quickly eaten feed blocks the esophagus).

However, unlike human choking, horses can breathe, but display distress, naval discharge and neck extension, and a vet is immediately required to keep the horse calm and remove all blocked food.

Ible paid $20,000 for the son of former smart sprinter Unite and Conquer (Listed Flemington winner on debut in 2018 and also the Wyong Magic Millions 2YO Classic later that year) at the 2023 Inglis Classic yearling sale highway session.

“Matthew was keen to stay in the horse to support his stallion Unite and Conquer, who stands at his Kingstar Farm at Denman in the Hunter Valley,” Ible said today.

“We gave him two starts as a three-year-old, and he ran well first-up as a four-year-old when narrowly beaten at Nowra last September.

“Unfortunately things didn’t go well from there.

“He clipped heels and lost his rider Pierre Boudvillain at Canberra when second favorite, and then subsequently got choke.

“I was at the stables when it happened, and called our vet to remedy the situation.

“We gave him a nice break to get over that, and he has come back really well.

“Common Goal resumed when second at Newcastle in late January, and it was an easy watch at Queanbeyan yesterday.

“He has pulled up well from the run, and we can now look to go back to the provincials and find another suitable race for him.”

Whilst Ible was at Queanbeyan, he was also thrilled with the performance of $10,000 Inglis Ready2Race purchase Barrengarry, who ran a close third to hotpot Waerea in the Provincial Maiden Plate (1400m) at his home track meeting.

A three-year-old son of Ghaiyyath, he was having only his second start and first since early November, and his trainer considers he has a nice future.

Meanhwile, Ible has ruled out his smart filly Spice Baby contesting any heats of the Provincial-Midway Championships series.

“She had a little break after running second in a Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1100m) at Royal Randwick in early January, and has just come back into the stable,” he said.

“We are looking to the late autumn and winter with her.”

Spice Baby, a three-year-old daughter of Tassort, has never been out of a place in her six starts to date; two wins and four placings.

Her sterling Randwick second to Everyone’s A Star was her first appearance in town in a race, though she had trialled twice at Rosehill Gardens as a two-year-old.

STORY JOHN CURTIS, FEBRUARY 18, 2026 - PICS BRADLEY PHOTOS