$100k World Cup

North America, Polo News

Santa Rita Captures $100,000 World Cup; Juan Martin Zubia Named MVP

2. March 2021

By: Rebecca Baldridge
Photos by: ChukkerTV

WELLINGTON, FL, March 1, 2021— Santa Rita took down Richard Mille to win the $100,000 World Cup by 16-14.

Santa Rita (Paquito de Narvaez, Toro Ruiz, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, and Juan Martin Zubia) took on Richard Mille (Marc Ganzi, Jeta Castagnola, Poroto Cambiaso, and Lolo Castagnola). Santa Rita was rated 24 goals while Richard Mille fielded a 22 goal team to start the match with two goals on handicap.

Santa Rita got off to a roaring start at 35 seconds into play when Alejandro Novillo Astrada jumped out in front of Marc Ganzi to score the first goal of the day. A minute later Novillo Astrada found the goal with a nearside tail shot to end Richard Mille’s two-goal advantage. Ganzi converted a Penalty 2, putting Richard Mille back in the lead at 3, but Juan Martin Zubia and Toro Ruiz found the uprights to put Santa Rita back in the lead with 4. With 49 seconds left on the clock, Poroto Cambiaso swept the ball through the posts to end the first chukker at 4-all.

In the second chukker, Santa Rita started the scoring with a successful Penalty 3 conversion by Novillo Astrada, followed by an eye-popping 95-yard shot on goal by Juan Martin Zubia. Thirteen-year-old Paquito Narvaez picked up a pass from Novillo Astrada and slammed it home, putting Santa Rita in the lead by 7-4. With 1:03 left on the clock, Santa Rita lost a challenge on an umpire call and Lolo Castagnola scored to end the chukker 7-5 with Santa Rita still in the lead.

Less than a minute into the third chukker, Juan Martin Zubia broke out in the lead and gained enough ground to check down and fire a shot on goal. Two minutes later Zubia made a slick near-side backshot to Novillo Astrada, who had anticipated the play and made a break downfield. He picked up the pass and ran to goal, putting Santa Rita up by 9-5. With 1:46 left on the clock, Jeta Castagnola picked the ball out of a crowd in front of the goal and put it through the posts. The chukker ended with Santa Rita in the lead by 9-6.

Alejandro Novillo Astrada scored the first goal of the second less than a minute into play, but Richard Mille was determined to fight back. Jeta Castagnola carried the ball downfield to score, cutting Santa Rita’s lead back to 3, but a Penalty 4 on a turning foul allowed Zubia to put another goal on the board. Jeta Castagnola converted a Penalty 2, but Toro Ruiz took a pass to the posts, bringing the score back to 12-8 for Santa Rita. With 1:50 left on the clock, Jeta Castagnola converted a Penalty 2, scratching away at Santa Rita’s lead. With only 48 seconds left to play, Paquito de Narvaez picked up a pass and made an impressive long shot on goal, taking Santa Rita up to 13-9 and belying his one-goal handicap.

The battle continued in the fifth chukker, with Richard Mille playing a hard defensive game. Santa Rita wasn’t able to score from the field but Juan Martin Zubia put two goals on the board with a Penalty 2 and a Penalty 4. At 1:49 Jeta Castagnola picked up a loose ball and took it through the uprights and converted on a Penalty 4 with just over a minute left on the clock. The chukker ended with Santa Rita leading 15-11.

Richard Mille continued its strong defense in the final chukker, and Santa Rita’s only goal came from a Penalty 2 conversion by Alejandro Novillo Astrada. Jeta Castagnola scored two goals from the field and one on a penalty to end the match with Santa Rita prevailing 16-14 to take home the $100k prize.

Juan Martin Zubia was named MVP, and his pony Matina, played in the third chukker, was awarded the American Polo Horse Association Best Playing Pony title. Millionaria, owned by Poroto Cambiaso and also played in the third chukker, was the Grand Champions Best Playing Pony. Notably, the $100k World Cup was 13-year-old Paquito de Narvaez’s first foray into high goal polo, a great start to what looks to be a promising career.

By: Rebecca Baldridge Photos by: ChukkerTV WELLINGTON, FL, March 1, 2021— Santa Rita took down Richard Mille to win the $100,000 World Cup by 16-14. Santa Rita (Paquito de Narvaez,…

North America, Polo News

Casablanca Shuts Down Hawaii Polo Life in First Match of $100,000 World Cup

22. February 2021

WELLINGTON, FL, February 20, 2021— In the first match of the $100k World Cup, Casablanca defeated Hawaii Polo Life by 12-6.

Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini, Nic Roldan, and Barto Castagnola) faced off against Hawaii Polo Life (Chris Dawson, Peke Gonzalez, Diego Cavanaugh, and Jejo Taranco) on Grand Champions Polo Club Field 3 yesterday. With a team handicap of 24, Casablanca started the match with one goal on handicap.

From the first moment, play was intense with both teams going hard and fast. Peke Gonzalez scored the first goal of the day on a Penalty 2. Grant Ganzi completed a play with a goal on a pass from Juancito Bollini with 2:21 left in the chukker. The period ended with Casablanca leading 2-1.

In the second chukker Hawaii Polo Life pulled ahead by 4-2, with Peke Gonzalez scoring two goals and converting a Penalty 4. Their defense kept Casablanca off the board from the field, although Barto Castagnola sank a Penalty 2. The chukker ended 4-3 for Hawaii Polo Life. The half ended in a tie at 5-all, with both teams scoring only on penalty conversions.

The tide turned against Hawaii Polo Life in the fifth chukker, as Casablanca began to come together as a cohesive unit. At 3:51, Juancito Bollini got out in front of his pursuers to score. After more furious back and forth play with Casablanca’s defense keeping Hawaii Polo Life off the board, Nic Roldan slammed a 60-yard shot to Barto Castagnola, who took the ball to the posts. Despite a broken mallet, Juancito Bollini continued to do his part by taking out his man in pursuit. The chukker ended 7-5 with Casablanca in the lead.

With both teams playing aggressively, Casablanca’s only goals in the fifth chukker came on penalities as Barto Castagnola made impressive back-to-back shots on a Penalty 3 and Penalty 4. Hawaii Polo Life was unable to score and the chukker ended 9-5 with Casablanca in the lead.

In the final chukker Hawaii Polo Life continued to fight hard but put only one more goal on the board from a Penalty 2. Barto Castagnola converted yet another penalty on a difficult shot into the wind. Seconds later, Nic Roldan took the ball from the knock-in, passed it to Barto, then took it back to score with 3:22 remaining to play. Castagnola knocked in the final goal of the day, with Casablanca defeating Hawaii Polo Life 12-6. Barto Castagnola was the high scoring player of the day with 8 goals, while Peke Gonzalez scored all 6 of the goals for Hawaii Polo Life.

The single-elimination, winner-take-all tournament, is the richest prize purse offered in club history. Each player on the winning team receives $25,000 in prize money. The tournament features eight teams from 16 to 25 goal rating.

The 2017 inaugural champion was Palm Beach Illustrated, with players Jared Zenni, Santi Torres, Agustin Obregon and Tommy Collingwood. The tournament was resurrected by Grand Champions owner and president Melissa Ganzi. It was last played at Palm Beach Polo and Country Club in the 1990s.

What makes the Word Cup so unique is the fact it‘s open to teams 0-40 goal on handicap, similar to the Copa Republica in Argentina where teams of any handicap from 0-to-40 can compete. In 2017, the lowest rated team was Equuleus at four goals and highest ranked teams were Orchard Hill, Audi, Valiente and Flexjet at 26 goals. The 2017 tournament also featured 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso playing with his son Poroto in a U.S. tournament for the first time. This year Poroto is back playing for Richard Mille alongside his Uncle Lolo Castagnola and cousin Jeta Castagnola.