By: Rebecca Baldridge
Photos by: ChukkerTV
WELLINGTON, FL, April 10, 2021— Tamera beat Richard Mille 14-6 on Sunday, April 4, while Orea took down Pampa Norte 13-9 on Monday afternoon and Casablanca squeezed by White Birch 13-12 on Thursday as play continued in the Triple Crown of Polo.
Last Sunday afternoon, Richard Mille (Marc Ganzi, Jeta Castagnola, Pablo Mac. Donough, and Paco de Narvaez) faced off against Tamera (Salvador Lockey, Santi Torres, Diego Cavanaugh, and Jejo Taranco) as play continued in the World Polo League’s Triple Crown of Polo. Both teams were rated 26 goals.
Diego Cavanaugh ran the ball downfield to put the first goal on the board at 6:28 while Pablo MacDonough converted a Penalty 2 to score Richard Mille’s first goal of the day. An answer came from Santi Torres and Jeta Castagnola responded with final goal from the field to end the chukker 2-2. Tension grew during the second chukker as Richard Mille gained the advantage. MacDonough got out in front to put the ball through at 4:30, while Tamera was unable to get on the board. The chukker ended with Richard Mille leading 3-2 but the tables were turned during the next period. Richard Mille was unable to score while Santi Torres converted a Penalty 2 for Tamera. After a fierce defensive battle, the half ended in a 3-3 tie.
Jejo Taranco started the fourth chukker with a lofted shot on goal at 6:25, putting Tamera in the lead. Santi Torres converted a Penalty 2 and with 3:52 on the clock, Diego Cavanaugh battled through a crowd in front of the goal to put the ball through the posts. With 2:32 left to play, he picked up a ball left behind by Torres and made a neck shot on goal, taking the score up to 7-3. With Richard Mille on the back foot, Castagnola was able to convert a penalty and score, but Torres ended the chukker with a goal at 9 seconds on the clock that put Tamera ahead 8-4. In the fifth chukker, Richard Mille battled to get by the Tamera defense, but the pressure was starting to show. Tamera converted three penalties and Santi Torres also scored from the field, putting the team ahead 12-4 at the end of the period.
Richard Mille came back stronger in the final chukker, and the teams alternated goals. Pablo MacDonough scored first, but Santi Torres came back with the answer. Marc Ganzi made a great shot to put another goal on the board for Richard Mille, but the response by Diego Cavanaugh saw Richard Mille go down to Tamera 14-6. Santi Torres was the high scoring player with 8 goals to his credit. Salvador Lockey was named the Most Valuable Player while Lady Blue, owned by Santi Torres, was the Best Playing Pony.
On Monday, Orea (Sugar Erskine, Justin Daniels, Torito Ruiz, and Nacho Novillo Astrada) met Pampa Norte (Waqqas Al Siddiq, Santiago Loza, Magoo Laprida, and Pedro Falabella). Orea, a 23-goal team, ceded one goal on handicap to 22-goal rated Pampa Norte.
The match began with both teams feeling each other out, and each scored their first goal from the penalty line on a Penalty 2. Back-to-back goals from Toro Ruiz, always an exciting player to watch, put Orea in the lead 3-2 at the end of the first chukker. Pampa Norte put up a struggle in the second period, with several near misses, and couldn’t penetrate Orea’s defense to make it to the uprights. Sugar Erskine put the first ball between the posts, with Ruiz adding another goal to take the score up to 5-2 with Orea in the lead. They started to run away in third period, again with Erskine scoring first followed by Ruiz, who also converted a Penalty 6. Magoo Laprida successfully shot from the penalty line to put another goal on the board for Pampa Norte, who had yet to score from the field. The half ended with Orea leading by 8-3.
Pampa Norte came back in the fourth period obviously rejuvenated, with Magoo Laprida scoring two goals from the field. Orea, however, lost a bit of steam and managed only one goal from a Penalty 4. This slight lapse in energy disappeared in the fourth period as Toro Ruiz exploded into action with three goals from the field and one from the penalty line. Magoo Laprida, doing all the heavy lifting for Pampa Norte, converted a Penalty 3 and added a goal to end the period with Pampa Norte trailing Orea by six goals, at 13-7. They rallied with a strong defense in the final chukker to keep Orea off the board, and Laprida took another two balls through the uprights. Unfortunately, it was too late and Orea’s lead was too large. Orea defeated Pampa Norte by 13-9. Toro Ruiz was the high scoring player, responsible for 10 of his team’s 13 goals, while Magoo Laprida scored 8 of Pampa Norte’s 9 goals.
Thursday afternoon White Birch (Chris Brant, Facu Llorente, Mariano Aguerre, and Santi Tocalino) took to the field against Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini, Barto Castagnola, and Juan Martin Nero). Casablanca, a 26-goal team, ceded three goals on handicap to White Birch.
Casablanca started the match on a hot streak, with three goals from Barto Castagnola and one from Juan Martin Nero, all from the field. White Birch made no headway against Casablanca’s defense and the period ended 4-3. The teams alternated scoring in the second period, with Santi Tocalino take two balls through the uprights for White Birch while Nero and Juancito Bollini scored to keep Casablance in the lead 6-5. The third chukker saw more back and forth play with lesser result. Chris Brant scored from the field while Grant Ganzi converted a Penalty 2 to end the half with Casablanca still one goal in the lead at 7-6.
White Birch came back in the second half determined to turn the tables on Casablanca. Their defense was effective, keeping the team in black off the board, while Santi Tocalini converted a pair of Penalty Twos to put White Birch in the lead for the first time. Another goal from Brant early in the fifth chukker put White Birch in the lead by 2. Casablanca, sensing the threat, redoubled the offense. While Facu Llorente was able to score again for White Birch, Juancito Bollini contributed a pair of goals from the field while Castagnola and Nero also found the posts to take back the lead at 11-10. Castagnola ran the ball to goal to take the score up to 12-10 early in the final chukker but a pair of goals from Brant tied things up again. Barto Castagnola knocked in the final shot to win the match for Casablanca at 13-12. Castagnola was the high scorer of the match with 5 goals to his credit.
2021 Triple Crown of Polo Livestream Schedule
Sunday 4/11
10am Richard Mille vs Santa Rita
1pm Orea Polo Team vs White Birch
4pm Casablanca vs Pampa Norte
Monday 4/12
11am Seminole Casino Coconut Creek vs Tamera
Wednesday 4/14
Semifinals
Saturday 4/17
4pm Final
All games streamed live on http://www.chukkertv.com
