The CV Whitney Cup, the first stage of the much anticipated The Gauntlet of Polo, kicked off on Sunday, February 12. The fifth edition of The Gauntlet of Polo marks the first time that the competition is held at the USPA-owned National Polo Center-Wellington, set in Wellington, Florida. 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.
Pilot, Tamera, Valiente and Shack Attack were victorious on the two first days, played on Sunday February 12 and Monday February 13. The big news of the year is Bob Jornayvaz’s Valiente comeback, with a lineup that include their flagship man, Adolfo Cambiaso.
The final of the CV Whitney Cup is due on Sunday, February 26.
CV WHITNEY CUP
- SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12
PILOT 13-12 SCONE (EXTRA CHUKKA)
Pilot: Curtis Pilot 0, Facundo Pieres 10 (11 goals), Matias Gonzalez 4**, Matias Torres Zavaleta 8 (2). Total: 22.
Scone: Cody Ellis 4 (4 goals), David Stirling 9, David Paradice 0*, Poroto Cambiaso 9 (8). Total: 22.
*Subbed in by Cable Magness.
**Subbed in by Lucas Escobar.
Score Pilot: 1-3, 5-4, 9-4, 10-8, 11-10, 12-12, 13-12.
Umpires: Gastón Lucero & Julian Appleby.
Third man: Kimo Huddleston.
TAMERA 10-7 ET-DUTTA CORP/SHOW+
Tamera: Alejandro Poma 1 (2 goals), Diego Cavanagh 9 (6), Pedrinho Zacharias 7 (1), Segundo Saravi 5 (1). Total: 22.
Dutta Corp/Show+: Joaquin Avendaño 4, Mariano Obregon 6 (2 goals), Timmy Dutta 4, Tomas Garcia del Rio 8 (5). Total: 22.
Score Tamera: 0-2, 4-2, 5-3, 8-4, 9-5, 10-7.
Umpires: Martín Pascual & Ronnie Hayes.
Third man: Steve Dalton.
- MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13
VALIENTE 11-6 LA ELINA
Valiente (22): Adolfo Cambiaso 10 (1 goal), Bob Jornayvaz 0, Lucas Criado Jr. 6 (9), Mariano “Peke” Gonzalez 6 (1). Total: 22.
La Elina (22): Jared Zenni 6 (1 gol), Jeff Hall 6 (3), Matt Coppola 5 (1), Nico Escobar 5***. Total: 22.
***Subbed in by Juan Monteverde (1 goal).
Score Valiente: 2-1, 2-1, 4-1, 6-2, 10-3, 11-6.
Umpires: Héctor Galindo & Martín Pascual.
Third man: Ronnie Hayes.
SHACK ATTACK 13-10 TWO TREES POLO
Shack Attack: Kristos Magrini 5 (4 goals), Santiago Toccalino 8 (4), Santino Magrini 4 (3) Ignacio Viana 5 (2). Total: 22.
Two Trees Polo: Juan Sanchez Elia 5, Mariano Aguerre 7 (3 goals), Miguel Novillo Astrada 8 (6 goles), Will Johnston 1. Total: 21.
Score Shack Attack: (0-1) 3-1, 4-4, 7-4, 9-5, 11-9, 13-10.
Umpires: Julian Appleby & Steve Dalton.
Third man: Gastón Lucero.
IMAGES:
The CV Whitney Cup will resume on Wednesday, February 15 and Thursday, February 16:
Wednesday, February 15
11am: Scone vs. Dazos
3pm: Dutta Corp Show + vs. Park Place
Thursday, February 16
11am: La Elina vs. Aspen
3pm: Two Trees Polo vs. La Fe
CV Whitney Cup, Fixture & Teams
Cover photo by Agustina Fonda.