In a very hard fought match, Pilot narrowly beat Shack Attack 12-11 and earned the second spot for the final 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. It is worth noting that Pilot has remained as the sole champion of The Gauntlet of Polo, having won all three tournaments in the first edition of the series, in 2019 – CV Whitney Cup, USPA Gold Cup and US Open.

Curtis Pilot and Co. were trailing 0-3 in the first chukka, until they managed to bounce back and claimed a tight 6-5 advantage by half time. Led by their flagship man, Facundo Pieres, who produced ten goals, Pilot struggled to hold a talented Shack Attack foursome, who remained always on their tail; in the fifth chukka, Shack Attack was just one goal behind (11-10), and tough sixth and last chukka would come, with both teams presenting battle. At the end of the day, they scored one goal each, but that was enough for Pilot to win a really hard match and get the second spot in the championship game.

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.

CV WHITNEY CUP – SEMIFINAL #2 – THURSDAY FEBRUARY 23

PILOT 12-11 SHACK ATTACK

Pilot: Curtis Pilot 0, Facundo Pieres 10 (10 goals), Lucas Escobar 4 (1), Matias Torres Zavaleta 8 (1). Total: 22.

Shack Attack: Kristos Magrini 5 (2 goals), Santiago Toccalino 8 (6), Santino Magrini 4, Ignacio Viana 5 (3). Total: 22.

Score Pilot: 0-3, 4-5, 6-5, 9-6, 11-10, 12-11.

Umpires: Kimo Huddleston & Martín Pascual.                       Third man: Ronnie Hayes.

Valiente and Pilot will clash for the CV Whitney Cup, on Sunday February 26, at 3pm.