Park Place claimed a close 10-9 win over Coca Cola and won the USPA Gold Cup, the second leg of the prestigious The Gauntlet of Polo, after the very much awaited championship match, that took place at the National Polo Center, in Wellington, Florida, United States, on Sunday March 23.
Coca Cola, the recent runner up of the CV Whitney Cup, had a stronger start, leading 3-1 in the first chukka. However, Park Place seized the reins in the second chukka – under the command of the three professional players, Hilario Ulloa, Louis Hine and Peke Gonzalez, they outscored Gillian Johnston and her boys 5-0 and took an impressive 6-3 lead. After such a blow, Coca Cola, led by Polito Pieres and Julián de Lusarreta – the two of them produced the nine goals for the team – managed to make a comeback, that allowed them to remain only one goal behind (7-6), at the end of the fourth chukka.
The two last chukkas were hotter than hell; both lineups fought hard and exchanged the leadership in a non stop battle. It was anyone’s match, indeed. At the start of the sixth and last chukka, Park Place were 8-7 up; but Coca Cola managed to outscore them 2-1 to tie at 9-all in regulation time, and sent the game into extra chukka. And that’s when Hilario Ulloa converted a penalty from the spot, that secured Park Place the coveted USPA Gold Cup.
On the other side, it could be said that this title was very special to Park Place. It is indeed a gift for the unforgettable Rufino Laulhé, the 15-years-old boy and a huge promise of polo, who left us far too soon last January in a painful car crash. Rufo was about to play his first season in Palm Beach with Park Place, but the dream was broken into pieces on that dreadful day. That’s why Park Place pay tribute to Rufo through a sticker on the team jersey’s sleeves, that simply reads “Rufo”.
Park Place’s captain, and the man who produced the winning goal in OT, Hilario Ulloa, shared some remarkable and moving words about Rufo: “I want to honour Rufo Lauhlé today; we had a tough start of the season. I was much looking forward to playing with him, because he was supposed to be one of the the biggest stars of the future, a future 10-goaler. It was very hard for all of us. Obviously, Louis (Hine) did an amazing job, but this final has been very emotional due to what happened last January, for whom we played for, Rufo… I know he worked hard for us, for this group of people. As a matter of fact, today, we were five guys – Louis did great on the field, but no doubts Rufo probably was around here, so he has a bit of this”.
Yes, Rufo, you won the USPA Gold Cup today, as well…
USPA GOLD CUP – FINAL – SUNDAY MARCH 23
PARK PLACE 10-9 COCA COLA (extra chukka)
Park Place: Andrey Borodin 0, Hilario Ulloa 10 (3 goals), Peke Gonzalez 7 (4), Louis Hine 5 (3). Total: 22.
Coca Cola: Gillian Johnston 0, Julián de Lusarreta 7 (4 goals), Lorenzo Chavanne 6, Polito Pieres 9 (5). Total: 22.
Score Park Place: 1-3, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6, 8-7, 9-9, 10-9.
MVP: Louis Hine.
BPP: Cinco, ridden by Peke González.
Umpires: Daina DeCoite & Guillermo Villanueva.
Third man: Kimo Huddleston.
The USPA Gold Cup was established in 1974, and has been played at many different states and clubs, such as Oak Brook Polo Club, in Illinois, Milwaukee PC, in Winconsin, Greenwich Polo Club, in Greenwich, New Bridge Polo Club, among others, and was relocated in Florida, in 1979, at Palm Beach Polo and Country Club. Some great teams took home the title more than once, including Valiente (2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018), Audi (2011, 2015), Crab Orchard (2007, 2010) and Scone (2021, 2023). White Birch holds the all-time record wins with 12 titles spanning three decades.
The next and last leg of The Gauntlet of Polo is the much awaited US Open Polo Championship, the highlight of the season in Palm Beach, that is due to commence on Wednesday March 26 and will come to an end on Sunday April 20.
USPA Gold Cup – Teams & Fixture
THE GAUNTLET OF POLO 2025 – TEAMS
BTA: Ignacio Viana 7, Kelly Beal 0, Steve Kruger 5, Tomás Panelo 10. Total: 22.
Brookshire: Camilo Castagnola 10, Toly Ulloa 7, Scott Wood 0, Carlos Saravi 5. Total: 22.
Catamount: Jesse Bray 7, Poroto Cambiaso 10, Rufino Merlos 5, Scott Devon 0. Total: 22.
Clearwater: Chip Campbell 1 **, Camp Campbell 2*, Gerónimo Obregón* 5, Joaquín Panelo 6 **, Paquito de Narvaez 7, Raúl Colombres 7. Total: 22-
*Will play the CV Whitney Cup //**Will play the USPA Gold Cup y el US Open
Coca Cola: Gillian Johnston 0, Julián de Lusarreta 7, Lorenzo Chavanne 6, Polito Pieres 9. Total: 22.
Global Port: Bartolomé Castagnola Jr. 10, Santos Merlos 6, Lucas Díaz Alberdi 6, Michael Romero 0. Total: 22.
La Fe: Francisco Elizalde 9, Kristos Magrini 6, Louis Devaleix 1, Robi Bilbao 5. Total: 21.
Park Place: Andrey Borodin 0, Hilario Ulloa 10, Peke Gonzalez 7, Louis Hine 5. Total: 22.
Pilot: Cody Ellis 5, Curtis Pilot 0, Facundo Pieres 9, Matías Torres Zavaleta 8. Total: 22.
Tamera: Adolfo Cambiaso 10, Alejandro Poma 1, Diego Cavanagh 7, TBA 4. Total: 22.
The Dutta Corp: Iñaki Laprida 7, Nicolás Díaz Alberdi 4, Timmy Dutta 4, Tomás García del Río 7. Total: 22.
2025 THE GAUNTLET OF POLO – CALENDAR
CV WHITNEY CUP – Winners: La Dolfina Tamera
February 8-23
USPA GOLD CUP – Winners: Park Place
February 27-March 23
US OPEN
March 26-April 20
Cover photo by Agustina Fonda.