April 2, 2021

North America, Polo News

Richard Mille and Tamera Victorious as Play Begins in the Triple Crown of Polo

2. April 2021

By Rebecca Baldridge
Photos by ChukkerTV

WELLINGTON, FL, April 1, 2021— Richard Mille defeated Seminole Casino Coconut Creek by 14-13 while Tamera beat Santa Rita 10-6.

Richard Mille (Marc Ganzi, Jeta Castagnola, Pablo MacDonough, and Paco de Narvaez) met Seminole Casino (Melissa Ganzi, Nic Roldan, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, and Juan Martin Zubia in the first match of the World Polo League’s Triple Crown of Polo. Richard Mille, with a team handicap of 26 goals, ceded two goals to Santa Rita, a 24-goal team, on handicap.

Barely thirty seconds into play, Marc Ganzi got out in front to score the first goal of the day and narrow Seminole Casino’s advantage to one goal. With rain bucketing down, there was some question as to whether play could continue. Unperturbed by the foul weather, Nic Roldan slammed a long shot through the posts and followed up by taking the ball downfield straight to the goal. Marc Ganzi converted a Penalty 2 and the chukker ended with Seminole Casino leading 4-2.

Fortunately, the rain came to a halt, allowing play to continue. Less fortunately, Seminole Casino’s ability to score also came to a halt during the second period. Each member of Richard Mille contributed a goal, and by the end of the chukker Richard Mille had taken a 6-4 lead. At the start of the third chukker, Nic Roldan took the ball from the bowl-in to the goal within 12 seconds, giving Seminole Casino a shot in the arm, and in the next 40 seconds finished on a pass from Juan Martin Zubia to tie things up. Later in the period Roldan completed a hat trick, but a pair of penalty conversions ended the half with Richard Mille leading by 9-7.

In the fourth chukker, it was Pablo MacDonough who scored the hat trick, starting with an easy penalty conversion and adding two more goals. Seminole Casino once again failed to get past Richard Mille’s defense and score. Early in the pentultimate chukker, Pablo MacDonough made an impressive coast-to-coast run and passed the ball to Marc Ganzi for the finish. Seminole Casino’s Juan Martin Zubia roared to life in this chukker, scoring a hat trick of his own with a goal from Roldan as well. The final chukker saw Seminole Casino giving their all as they managed to keep Richard Mille away from the posts while Roldan and Zubia both scored. Had the team managed to capitalize on a few lost opportunities, the match might have gone to Seminole Casino. In the end though, Richard Mille won by a narrow 14-13. Marc Ganzi and Nic Roldan were the high scoring players, each with 7 goals to his credit.

In the second match of the day, Tamera (Ale Poma, Santi Torres, Diego Cavanaugh, and Jejo Taranco) took on Santa Rita (Robert Strom, Nacho Figueras, Clemente Zavaletta, and Horacio Llorente). Twenty-five goal Tamera ceded one goal to Santa Rita on handicap.

Tamera dominated play from the get-go, keeping Santa Rita away from the uprights while Ale Poma scored the first goal of the day and Santi Torres converted a Penalty 3. In the second period, Diego Cavanaugh left two Santa Rita defenders behind and made an impressively angled shot to score for Tamera. He followed up with another two minutes later to put his team in the lead at 4-0. With 40 seconds remaining to play, Clemente Zavaleta hit a neat neck shot and put Santa Rita’s first goal from the field on the board, ending the chukker at 4-2. Although Santa Rita started to play a better game in the third chukker, they were still unable to make it on goal. Tamera couldn’t score from the field either but added two goals from penalties to end the half 6-2.

The teams were back and forth for almost three minutes before Jejo Taranco gained three lengths on a pursuing Horacio Llorente and scored for Tamera. Santi Torres picked up a loose ball and put it through the uprights to take Tamera up 8-2. Clemente Zavaleta scored for Santa Rita with a successful Penalty 3 conversion, putting their third goal on the board. Tamera continued to play exceptionally well in the fifth chukker and put the score up to 10-3. Santa Rita’s Nacho Figueras battled his way to the goal to end the chukker with Tamera leading 10-4. In the final period of play, Santa Rita finally found their rhythm, keeping Tamera away from the goal. Llorente and Figueras both scored but it was too little too late, and Tamera carried the day by 10-6. Santi Torres was the high scoring player with five goals for Tamera.

2021 Triple Crown of Polo Livestream Schedule

Thursday 4/1
10am Casablanca vs Orea Polo Team

Friday 4/2
11am Seminole Casino Coconut Creek vs Santa Rita
4:30pm White Birch vs Pampa Norte

Sunday 4/4
4pm Tamera vs Richard Mille

Monday 4/5
11am Pampa Norte vs Orea Polo Team

Thursday 4/8
4pm White Birch vs Casablanca

Friday 4/9
11am Tamera vs Seminole Casino Coconut Creek

Sunday 4/11
11am Richard Mille vs Santa Rita
4pm Casablanca vs Pampa Norte

Monday 4/12
4pm Orea Polo Team vs White Birch

Wednesday 4/14
Semifinals

Saturday 4/17
4pm Final

All games streamed live on http://www.chukkertv.com

By Rebecca Baldridge Photos by ChukkerTV WELLINGTON, FL, April 1, 2021— Richard Mille defeated Seminole Casino Coconut Creek by 14-13 while Tamera beat Santa Rita 10-6. Richard Mille (Marc Ganzi,…

North America, Polo News

Park Place Holds On to Defeat Scone in CaptiveOne U.S. Open Polo Championship®

2. April 2021

Wellington, FL – April 1, 2021 – The final two teams, Tonkawa and Scone, made their debuts in the 2021 CaptiveOne U.S. Open Polo Championship® on Thursday at the International Polo Club Palm Beach as four teams jostled for positions in their brackets. In the opening game of the day, Tonkawa faced a second-half push from Aspen/Dutta Corp but stood tall in the final two chukkers to claim the 11-9 victory. After splitting their first two meetings, Park Place got the best of USPA Gold Cup® champions Scone, holding on for an exciting 9-8 victory.

Setting their sights on reaching a second consecutive final in the Gauntlet of Polo®, Tonkawa began their tournament with a hard-fought victory on perfect 4 for 4 penalty shooting from Sapo Caset and a passing attack that overwhelmed Aspen/Dutta Corp in the first half. Assisting on all seven of their field goals in the game, Tonkawa effectively passed to goal, but Aspen/Dutta Corp produced a run of five goals that changed the momentum of the game that ultimately left them just short of the comeback in the narrow two-goal defeat.

Controlling possession throughout the first half, Tonkawa had their opportunities to build a large lead but converted just three of their 14 shot attempts. However, the constant pressure from Tonkawa kept the ball in the attacking half and produced a 3-0 chukker in favor of the team in green, with two goals coming off the mallet of Caset. After a Penalty 4 conversion from Caset extended the lead to four, Aspen/Dutta Corp ended their drought when Stewart Armstrong came forward in the game for his team’s first goal. While continuing to prevent Aspen/Dutta Corp from scoring, Tonkawa struggled to add to their lead after missed chances around goal, leaving the score at 5-2 entering halftime.

A renewed focus to start the second half resulted in three Tonkawa goals in a span of minutes that put them ahead 8-2 and left Aspen/Dutta Corp facing a big hill to climb. Despite their early struggles offensively, Aspen/Dutta Corp came alive for the rest of the fourth chukker, starting with a run from Timmy Dutta. A Penalty 1 goal awarded to Gringo Colombres was quickly followed by another field goal as Aspen/Dutta Corp scored three goals in a span of one minute and 45 seconds to change the game. Another goal each from Colombres and Dutta brought Aspen/Dutta Corp within one, trailing 8-7 entering the fifth chukker. Returning to a possession-based attack, Francisco Elizalde pushed the lead back to four on consecutive goals, but Aspen/Dutta Corp provided one final push to try and send the game to overtime. In a final attempt, Colombres and Armstrong scored to threaten Tonkawa’s victory, but time ran out as they were ultimately defeated 11-9.

Though Aspen/Dutta Corp made up ground in the second half, Tonkawa stayed on top to win 11-9. ©Alex Pacheco

A tale of two halves, Park Place and Scone battled until the final seconds despite Park Place scoring the first seven goals of the game. Building a 7-0 lead on the reigning USPA Gold Cup® champions, Park Place looked to have the win secured but were held to just two shots in the second half as Scone fought their way back into the game on four penalty conversions from Peke Gonzalez. The potent Scone attack was held to just eight goals, four goals below their season average as their first-half struggles ultimately made the difference in the 9-8 defeat.

Goals proved to be hard to come by in the first chukker as a Penalty 4 conversion from Hilario Ulloa provided the only offense in the opening seven minutes. The momentum swung in Park Place’s favor at the start of the second chukker after a run from Andrey Borodin was finished by an impressive shot to goal, extending Park Place’s lead to two. Scone was held scoreless through two chukkers, a rarity for the Cambiaso-led offense, allowing Park Place to build a significant seven-goal lead in a dominant third chukker by Ulloa. A goal from Poroto Cambiaso ended the half but left Scone facing a difficult task to come back from a 7-1 deficit.

Beginning to chip away at the lead, Scone prevented Park Place from attempting a shot at goal and found a rhythm offensively, receiving a Penalty 2 goal from Gonzalez and a second field goal from Poroto Cambiaso. Still holding a comfortable four-goal lead, Park Place continued to limit the Scone attack, but their opponents slowly closed the gap behind the young duo of Gonzalez and Poroto Cambiaso. Gonzalez’s third penalty conversion brought Scone within two, but an impressive response from Park Place saw a long pass from Juan Britos picked up on the nearside by Matt Coppola and finished for a goal to extend the lead back to three. Sent to the penalty line again, Gonzalez converted, leaving two minutes for Scone to tie the game. Running into Park Place territory, Scone was unable to score just feet from goal as a game-saving backhand from Ulloa secured the 9-8 victory.

Polo matches at IPC are not open to the general public except for ticketed Sunday brunch. Online viewing is available with a subscription at globalpolo.com.

Click here to view the full 2021 High Goal Polo Schedule.
Click here to learn more about the International Polo Club Palm Beach.
Click here to learn more about the GAUNTLET OF POLO®.