The 126th Argentine Open, the most important polo tournament in the world, resumed on Sunday in Palermo. For a third year in a row, ten teams are competing for the prestigious title. Defending champions La Dolfina will play for their seventh consecutive championship.
It’s hard to remember the last time two debutants made such an impact. Parallels have been made with the Argentine Open of 1983, when twins Horacio and Gonzalo Heguy began their glorious journey in Palermo with Chapaleufú beating defending champions Santa Ana. But what brothers Barto and Camilo Castagnola did on Sunday will be hard to forget, because the maturity they showed in the match where La Natividad beat La Albertina Abu Dhabi is sure to lead them on to greatness.
The second match saw last year’s runners up Las Monjitas beat a tough Cría Yatay in a good match. Las Monjitas showed their talent and focused on playing as a team, and were able to claim the win.
LA NATIVIDAD 13-7 LA ALBERTINA ABU DHABI
La Natividad: Camilo Castagnola 6 (6 goals), Matías Torres Zavaleta 7 (4), Bartolomé Castagnola 7 (3), Nachi du Plessis 8. Total: 28.
La Albertina Abu Dhabi: Toro Ruiz 6 (1 goal), Francisco Elizalde 8 (2), Cubi Toccalino 8 (2), Alfredo Cappella Barabucci 8 (2, 1 corner). Total: 30.
Score La Natividad: 2-1, 4-1, 5-2, 7-2, 10-3, 11-4, 11-6, 13-7.
Umpires: Matías Baibiene and Martín Pascual.
Third man: Gonzalo López Vargas.
Best Polo Argentino of the match: Dolfina Aventura (Dolfina Ácido x Dolfina Buenaventura). Played by Camilo Castagnola.
Nomination 1: Chalo Mujer Amada (Chalo Compinche x Chalo Easy Love), played by Barto Castagnola.
Nomination 2: Chalo Bandera (Machitos Latino x Gama), played by Camilo Castagnola.
LAS MONJITAS 17-9 CRÍA YATAY
Las Monjitas: Facundo Sola 9 (5 goals), Hilario Ulloa 10 (3), Sapo Caset 10 (8, 5 penalties), Santiago Toccalino 9 (1). Total: 38.
Cría Yatay: Lerín Zubiaurre 8 (2 goals), Magoo Laprida 8 (2), Joaquín Pittaluga 8 (3, 1 penalty), Iñaki Laprida 8 (2, 1 penalty). Total: 32.
Score Las Monjitas: 3-1, 6-1, 7-3, 8-5, 10-6, 12-7, 13-8, 17-9.
Umpires: Martín Aguerre and Guillermo Villanueva.
Third man: José I. Araya.
Best Polo Argentino of the match: Cachiyuyo Sportiva (Sportivo x Gete Cartajena), played by Facundo Sola.
Nomination 1: Elovero Fisura (Beautiful Bob x Soy La Figurita), played by Hilario Ulloa.
Nomination 2: Dolfi Educada (Durazno x Cautiva), played by Sapo Caset.
The Argentine Open will continue on Saturday:
2pm: La Irenita vs La Dolfina
4:30pm: La Dolfina Polo Ranch vs La Ensenada
126th ARGENTINE OPEN: Fixture & Teams
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