Dubai and UAE Polo qualfied to the championship match of the British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup, following their respective wins against Marqués de Riscal and Park Place, in the semifinals that took place on Wednesday July 19. Therefore, the final of one of the three Grand Slams of polo, due on Sunday July 23, will be a family affair, with the clash of the Castagola brothers – Dubai’s Camilo and UAE Polo’s Bartolito.
In the first semifinal, played on Lawns 1 at midday, Dubai claimed a 15-12 win over Marqués de Riscal por 15-12, in a very balanced contest. Dubai had to fight quite hard to overcome their opponent’s pressure, that saw Rashid Albwady & Co. leading by a tight 12-11 at the start of the last chukka. That’s when Dubai reinforced their attack, to earn a victory that secured the first ticket to the final. It is worth to note that Marqués de Riscal patron, Alejandro Aznar, delivered a remarkable performance.
Up next, UAE Polo and reigning champions, Park Place, met up to play the second semifinal, also on Lawns 1. The match had two very different halves; a close, very leveled first half, until UAE polo took off from the fourth chukka onwards. They took Park Place by surprise, widening their gap chukka after chukka, until they reached an eight six lead at the end of the fifth (14-8). Overwhelmed by UAE Polo dominance, Andrey Borodin’s team just managed to produce three goals within the three remaining chukkas. At the end of the day, UAE Polo claimed and impressive 18-9 win, that put them in the final of the British Open after two years.
THE 2023 BRITISH OPEN POLO CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE COWDRAY GOLD CUP IS STREAMED LIVE ON COWDRAY TV, WITH THE PRODUCTION OF POLOLINE HERE.
British Open – Sunday July 19
SEMIFINAL #1 – DUBAI 15-12 MARQUES DE RISCAL (Lawns 1)
DUBAI*: Camilo Castagola 10 (9 goals), Rashid Albwardy 2, Beltrán Laulhé 3, Rufino Bensadón 7 (5). Total: 22.
*1 goal on Penalty 1.
MARQUÉS DE RISCAL: Alejandro Aznar 0 (1 goal), Santiago Cernadas 7 (1), Guillermo Caset 9 (9), Chris Mackenzie 6 (1). Total: 22.
Score Dubai: 2-3, 4-4, 8-6, 10-9, 12-11, 15-12.
SEMIFINAL #: UAE POLO 18-9 PARK PLACE (Lawns 1)
UAE POLO: Kayley Smith 0, Lukin Monteverde 6 (4 goals), Barto Castagnola 9 (8), Tommy Beresford 7 (6). Total: 22.
PARK PLACE: Andrey Borodin 0, Matt Perry 5, Facundo Pieres 10 (8 goles), James Harper 7 (1).
Score UAE Polo: 2-2, 5-4, 7-6, 10-7, 14-8, 18-9.
TOP SCORERS (PRO)
1) Facundo Pieres (50)
2) Guillermo Caset (48)
3) Camilo Castagnola (47)
4) Pablo MacDonough (40)
5) Fran Elizalde (36)
6) Tomás Beresford (34)
7) Bartolomé Castagnola Jr. (29)
TOP SCORERS (AMATEUR)
1) Garvy Beh (8)
2) Alejandro Aznar, Guy Schwarzenbach, Charlie Wooldridge (7 cada uno)
3) Joevy Beh (5))
The British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup will come to an end on Sunday July 23, with the much anticipated championship match between Dubai and UAE Polo, at 3pm.
BRITISH OPEN POLO CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE COWDRAY GOLD CUP: Fixture & Teams