Valiente, Pilot, Park Place and Shack Attack are the four teams who qualified to the semifinals of the CV Whitney Cup, the first leg of the prestigious The Gauntlet of Polo, after the two last days of league games, played on Saturday February 18 and Sunday February 19, at the brand new USPA-owned National Polo Center-Wellington, set in Wellington, Florida. The competition sees a total of twelve teams, in participation, split in four brackets.
The tournament’s format allows teams to play within their bracket.
*The top two from each bracket will meet in the first round
*The loser of the first game in each bracket will play the third team in the bracket
*The winner of the first game in each bracket will then play the third team.
After bracket play, the top team from each bracket will advance to the semifinals. In the event of a tie, the win/loss, net goals, gross goals format will be used. Semifinals pairings will be determined by a draw. Winners of the will advance to the final.
Originally known as the U.S. Handicap, the C.V. Whitney Cup was first competed for in 1979. Nine years later, in 1988, the tournament was renamed for C.V. (Cornelius Vanderbilt “Sonny”) Whitney, an avid polo player, three-time winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship (1928,1937, 1938) and son of 10-goal Hall of Famer, Harry Payne Whitney. Serving as the first tournament of the three-part Gauntlet of Polo since 2019, the C.V. Whitney Cup sees twelve teams up to 22 goals, compete, all of which will pursue the USPA Gold Cup and U.S. Open Polo Championship, following the starting leg of the series.
The summary of the last league matches;
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 18
PARK PLACE 13-11 TAMERA
Park Place: Hilario Ulloa 10 (5 goals), Juan Britos 9 (5), Andrey Borodin 0 (1), Jason Wates 3 (1). Total: 22
Tamera: Alejandro Poma 1 (2 goals), Diego Cavanagh 9 (6), Pedrinho Zacharias 7 (2), Segundo Saravi 5 (1). Total: 22.
Score Park Place: 2-3, 4-5, 5-6, 7-9, 10-10, 13-11.
Umpires: Héctor Galindo & Kimo Huddleston. Third man: Martín Pascual.
PILOT 10-9 DAZOS
Pilot: Curtis Pilot 0 (1 goal), Facundo Pieres 10 (7), Lucas Escobar 4, Matias Torres Zavaleta 8 (2). Total: 22.
Dazos: David Farache 0, Dylan Rossiter 6 (6 goals), Nicolas Pieres 9 (1), Santi Torres 6. Total: 21.
Score Pilot: (0-1) 2-1. 4-2, 6-4, 9-5, 9-6, 10-9.
Umpires: Steve Dalton & Julian Appleby. Third man: Gastón Lucero.
DOMINGO 19 DE FEBRERO
SHACK ATTACK 16-15 LA FE (EXTRA CHUKKA)
Shack Attack: Kristos Magrini 5 (3 goals), Santiago Toccalino 8 (9), Santino Magrini 4 (1), Ignacio Viana 5 (3). Total: 22.
La Fe: Francisco Elizalde 9 (12 goals), Louis Devaleix 1, Lucas Diaz Alberdi 6 (1), Robi Bilbao 6 (2). Total: 22.
Score Shack Attack: 2-3, 7-4, 9-5, 11-8, 12-10, 15-15, 16.15.
Umpires: Julian Appleby & Jamie Mirikitani. Third man: Gastón Lucero.
VALIENTE 17-12 ASPEN
Valiente: Adolfo Cambiaso 10. Bob Jornayvaz 0 (6 goals), Lucas Criado Jr. 6 (7), Mariano “Peke” Gonzalez 6 (4). Total: 22.
Aspen: Francisco Bensadon 7, Nicolás Saenz 5, Rufino Bensadon (12 goals), Stewart Armstrong 2. Total: 22.
Score Valiente: 5-2, 8-2, 10-4, 12-7, 15-9, 17-12.
Umpires: Martín Pascual & Steve Dalton. Third man: Héctor Galindo.
IMAGES
CV Whitney Cup, Sunday February 19, by Agustina Fonda
The semifinals of the CV Whitney Cup will take place on Wednesday February 22 and Thursday February 23, with the following order of play:
Semifinal #1 – Wednesday February 22
11am: Valiente vs. Park Place
Semifinal #2 – Thursday February 23
10am: Pilot vs. Shack Attack
The final of the CV Whitney Cup is due on Sunday, February 26, at 3pm.
CV WHITNEY CUP: Fixture & Teams
Cover photo by Agustina Fonda.