La Dolfina/Tonkawa, Coca Cola, Valiente and La Fe claimed wins on a new matchdate of the USPA Gold Cup, following the four games played on a busy Tuesday March 5. The USPA Gold Cup, is the second leg of the The Gauntlet of Polo, that is currently underway at the National Polo Center, in Wellington, Florida, United States. The tournament celebrates, that was established in 1974, celebrates its 50th. Anniversary and sees nine teams up to 22 goals, in participation.
In the opening game, La Dolfina/Tonkawa claimed an impresive 14-6 win over Clearwater; up next, Coca Cola earned a tight 10-9 against Park Place; and last but not least, in the two last remaining contests that were played simultaneosuly, Valiente and La Fe defeated Dutta Corp and Tamera, respectively. Valiente were victorious after a hard fought game that was decide in extra chukka, through a penalty conversion by Adolfo Cambiaso.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
All teams will play four preliminary matches each. Following the conclusion of preliminary play, all teams will be ranked 1-9. The top four ranked teams will draw for semifinal pairings with the winners of the semifinals advancing to the USPA Gold Cup final. Any ties between teams that played each other will be broken by who-beat-who. All other ties will be broken by a one-player shootout. The Retama Cup will serve as the subsidiary to the USPA Gold Cup. Teams who do not qualify for the semifinals of the USPA Gold Cup will automatically be entered in the Retama Cup.
The final of the USPA Gold Cup is due on Sunday March 24, at the National Polo Center.
USPA GOLD CUP – TUESDAY MARCH 5
LA DOLFINA/TONKAWA 14-6 CLEARWATER
La Dolfina/Tonkawa: Jeff Hildebrand 0, Rufino Merlos 3, Poroto Cambiaso 10, Tomás Panelo 9. Total: 22.
Clearwater: Chip Campbell 1, Raúl Colombres 8, Lucas Criado Jr. 7, Jared Zenni 6. Total: 22.
Score La Dolfina/Tonkawa: 4-0, 6-1, 7-2, 9-3, 10-5, 14-6.
Umpires: Danny Juarez & Martin Pascual. Third man: Julian Appleby.
COCA COLA 10-9 PARK PLACE
Coca Cola: Gillian Johnston 0, Kristos Magrini 6, Pablo Pieres 9, Julián de Lusarreta 7. Total: 22.
Park Place: Andrey Borodin 0, Juan Britos 9, Hilario Ulloa 10, Marcos Bignoli 3. Total: 22.
Score Coca Cola: 0-2, 2-5, 4-6, 6-6, 7-7, 10-9.
Umpires: Gastón Lucero & Jamie Mirikitani. Third man: Horacio Onetto.
VALIENTE 11-10 DUTTA CORP (extra chukka)
Valiente: Bob Jornayvaz 0*, Peke Gonzalez 7**, Paco de Narvaez Jr. 5, Adolfo Cambiaso 10. Total: 22.
*Subbed in by Joaquin Vilgre de La Madrid.
**Subbed in by Jesse Bray.
Dutta Corp: Joaquín Avendaño 4, Mariano Obregón 6, Facundo Cruz Llosa 7*, Timmy Dutta 4. Total: 21.
*Subs in for Tomás García del Río.
Score Valiente: 5-2, 5-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-9, 10-10. 11-10.
Umpires: Kimo Huddleston & Ronnie Hayes. Third man: Danny Juarez.
LA FE 15-12 TAMERA
La Fe: Lucas Diaz Alberdi 6, Robi Bilbao 6, Francisco Elizalde 9, Louis Devaleix 1. Total: 22.
Tamera: Alejandro Poma 1, Segundo Saravi 5, Matías Torres Zavaleta 8, Diego Cavanagh 8. Total: 22.
Score La Fe: 2-2, 7-3, 10-5, 11-8, 13-9, 15-8.
Umpires: Héctor Galindo & Steve Dalton. Third man:Julian Appleby.
The USPA Gold Cup will resume through Friday March 8 and Sunday March 12, with the following order of play:
Friday March 8
11am: Pilot vs. Clearwater
Satuday March 9
11am: Valiente vs. La Fe
Sunday March 10
11am: Dutta Corp. vs. La Dolfina/Tonkawa
3pm: Coca Cola vs. Tamera
USPA Gold Cup – Teams & Fixture
2024 THE GAUNTLET OF POLO CALENDAR
CV Whitney Cup: February 9 – 25.
USPA Gold Cup: February 28 – March 24.
U.S. Open Polo Championship: March 22 – April 21.
Utilizing the same prize money distribution for the 2023 Gauntlet of Polo, the format guarantees a total of $200,000 in prize money. $50,000 will be awarded to each of the winning teams of the C.V. Whitney Cup and USPA Gold Cup. Similarly, $100,000 in prize money will bepresented to the winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship and any team that wins all three tournaments will be crowned the Gauntlet Champion. In keeping with the spirit of philanthropy, U.S. Polo Assn. will provide a $2,500 donation to the winner and runner-up teams of all three finals to be donated to a polo charity of their choice.
All Sunday games are due on the National Polo Center main ground.
Cover photo, by Agustina Fonda.