Pogo I Am the first jumps mare to win £20,000 prize under new scheme

The first £20,000 prize to be awarded over jumps under the new Great British Bonus (GBB) scheme has gone the way of the Harry Fry-trained Pogo I Am, a six-year-old mare who landed the first division of the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Stratford on Tuesday.

No one will rue the success of her Cornwall-based owners David and Sandie Newton, with the latter having been placed in crutches since January following a nasty farm accident.

The couple bred Pogo I Am from the Batsford Stud stallion Passing Glance, who is owned by their friends David and Kathleen Holmes, out of the Mujahid mare Orbital Orchid, who the Newton family also campaigned to win a mares' novices' hurdle.

The scheme is for breeders and owners of British-bred horses under both codes that race successfully in Britain.

The fact Pogo I Am is by a British-based stallion ensured her connections are eligible to receive the maximum payout of £20,000 and she remains eligible to win future bonuses.

"She did it nicely in the end and the rain that came didn't harm her chances as she wouldn't want it rattling quick," said Harry Fry, who cited another GBB race at Southwell later this month as a potential next target for the mare.

"I'm thrilled for Sandie and David Newton, who bred her. Considering it was £3,418 for winning the race, the bonus makes quite a difference and is a great advert for breeding British mares."

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