The Gold Cup continued as Habtoor and Zedan claimed respective wins over Bangash Dodson & Horrell and Ghantoot on Saturday, February 19. Both matches took place at Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Dubai Open forms part of the Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series, the most prestigious polo event in Asia and the Middle East, held under the Patronage of HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai.
The tournament sees eight teams, up to 18 goals, compete. The finals are set to be played on Saturday, March 5.
THE GOLD CUP (DUBAI OPEN) IS STREAMED LIVE ON POLOLINE TV.
In the first match, Bangash Dodson & Horrell took an early advantage, but Habtoor replied quickly, scoring four unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead by the end of the first. From then onwards, Habtoor, led by their main man, Bautista Bayugar, overwhelmed their opponents, with Mohammed Al Habtoor’s team taking a commanding 8-3 lead by half time. Bangash got back into the game in the penultimate chukka, narrowing the gap down to 3 goals, but Habtoor never let up. They converted a couple of goals in the last, outscoring Bangash 2-0 to take an 11-9 win, their second of the tournament.
The second match of the day, between Zedan and Ghantoot, got off to a close start, but Tomás Panelo seized the reins for Zedan in the second to widen their advantage throughout the rest of the match. With only one chukka remaining, Zedan lead the match 9-5 and Ghantoot was not able to stop their determined opponents. Zedan scored once more in the last to seal the deal and claim a 10-6 win.
GOLD CUP (DUBAI OPEN) – SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19:
HABTOOR 11-0 BANGASH DODSON & HORRELL
HABTOOR: Mohammed Al Habtoor 0, Bautista Bayugar 8, Juan Jauretche 6, Matías González 4.
BANGASH DODSON & HORRELL: Haider Bangash 0, Federico Von Potobsky 5, Benjamín Panelo 7, Nicolás Corti Maderna 5.
Score Habtoor: 4-1, 6-2, 8-3, 9-6, 11-9.
Umpires: Peter Wright & Jason Dixon.
Third Man: Tim Bown.
Top Scorer: Bautusta Bayugar (6 goals).
ZEDAN 10-6 GHANTOOT
ZEDAN: Amr Zedan 0, Tomás Panelo 7, Manuel Plaza 6, Gonzalo Ferrari 5.
GHANTOOT: Nasser Al Shamsi 1, Kian Hall 3, Pablo Llorente 7, Marcos Araya 7.
Score Zedan: 3-2, 6-2, 7-3, 9-5, 10-6.
Umpires: Peter Wright & Tim Bown.
Third Man: Jason Dixon.
Top Scorer: Tomás Panelo (7 goals).
The Gold Cup continues on Sunday, February 20:
2pm: UAE Polo vs. Dubai Wolves by CAFU.
4pm: Abu Dhabi vs. AM Polo.
Gold Cup (Dubai Open) – Fixture & Teams
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