Valiente and La Dolfina/Tonkawa qualified to the championship match of the USPA Gold Cup, following their wins in the semifinals against Coca Cola and Park Place, respectively, that took place on Wednesday March 20. The USPA Gold Cup is the second leg of The Gauntlet of Polo, the most significant tournament series in the United States, that is currently underway at the National Polo Center, in Wellington, Florida.
Therefore, there will be a rematch between father and son, who will go head-to-head for the second title of the 2024 Gauntlet of Polo. On February 25, Valiente, with Adolfo Cambiaso, claimed the CV Whitney Cup over La Dolfina, with his son Poroto. La Dolfina, the Cambiaso family’s club, in their debut in American high goal, joined forces with Tonkawa’s Jeff Hildebrand and hired Rufino Merlos to play the USPA Gold Cup. It is worth to notice that Poroto Cambiaso and Tomás Panelo, who remained within the lineup, are the defending champions – Poroto and Tomás claimed the USPA Gold Cup in 2023, with Scone.
With regards to the semifinals of the current USPA Gold Cup, Valiente beat Coca Cola 12-10, while La Dolfina/Tonkawa hard to overcome a hard fought match against Park Place, to calim a narrow 12-11 win.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
All teams will play four preliminary matches each. Following the conclusion of preliminary play, all teams will be ranked 1-9. The top four ranked teams will draw for semifinal pairings with the winners of the semifinals advancing to the USPA Gold Cup final. Any ties between teams that played each other will be broken by who-beat-who. All other ties will be broken by a one-player shootout. The Retama Cup will serve as the subsidiary to the USPA Gold Cup. Teams who do not qualify for the semifinals of the USPA Gold Cup will automatically be entered in the Retama Cup.
USPA GOLD CUP – SEMIFINALS – WEDNESDAY MARCH 20
VALIENTE 12-10 COCA COLA
Valiente: Bob Jornayvaz 0, Peke Gonzalez 7 (2 goals), Paco de Narvaez Jr 5*, Adolfo Cambiaso 10 (6). Total: 22.
*Subbed in by Federico Panzillo, 4 goals.
Coca Cola: Gillian Johnston 0 (1 goal), Kristos Magrini 6 (1), Pablo Pieres 9 (5), Julián de Lusarreta 7*. Total: 22.
*Subbed in by Torito Ruiz, 2 goals
*1 goal on Penalty 1.
Score Valiente: 2-3, 4-6, 8-7, 10-7, 10-8, 12-8.
Umpires: Gastón Lucero & Jamie Mirikitani. Third man: Julian Appleby.
LA DOLFINA/TONKAWA 12-11 PARK PLACE
La Dolfina/Tonkawa: Jeff Hildebrand 0, Rufino Merlos 3, Poroto Cambiaso 10 (3 goals), Tomás Panelo 9 (9). Total: 22.
Park Place: Andrey Borodin 0, Juan Britos 9 (3 goals), Hilario Ulloa 10 (7), Marcos Bignoli 3 (1). Total: 22.
Score La Dolfina/Tonkawa: 2-1, 3-4, 6-7, 8-8, 11-9, 12-11.
Umpires: Kimo Huddleston & Héctor Galindo. Third man: Steve Dalton.
The USPA Gold Cup will come to an end on Sunday March 24 at the National Polo Center, with the following order of play:
11 am, FINAL SUBSIDIARY RETAMA CUP
Clearwater vs. Tamera
3pm, FINAL USPA GOLD CUP
3pm: Valiente vs. La Dolfina/Tonkawa
USPA Gold Cup – Teams & Fixture
Cover photo by Agustina Fonda.
2024 THE GAUNTLET OF POLO CALENDAR
CV Whitney Cup: February 9 – 25 (Winner: Valiente)
USPA Gold Cup: February 28 – March 24.
U.S. Open Polo Championship: March 27 – April 21.
Utilizing the same prize money distribution for the 2023 Gauntlet of Polo, the format guarantees a total of $200,000 in prize money. $50,000 will be awarded to each of the winning teams of the C.V. Whitney Cup and USPA Gold Cup. Similarly, $100,000 in prize money will be presented to the winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship and any team that wins all three tournaments will be crowned the Gauntlet Champion. In keeping with the spirit of philanthropy, U.S. Polo Assn. will provide a $2,500 donation to the winner and runner-up teams of all three finals to be donated to a polo charity of their choice.
All Sunday games are due on the National Polo Center main ground.