Valiente defeated reigning champions Park Place by a 12-10 score and qualified to 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. The competition sees a total of twelve teams, in participation, split in four brackets.

Bob Jornayvaz’s foursome had a hard fought battle against Andrey Borodin’s team, who remained in the lead thoroghout five chukkas; that’s when Valiente took off and closed the gap to just one goal (9-10). In the sixth chukka, a determined Valiente outscored Park Place 3-0, which eventually led them to the 12-10 win and the first ticket to the championship match. The Colorado-based lineup received one goal on handicap, after hiring 9-goaler Camilo “Jeta” Castagnola, who had to sub in for his uncle, Adolfo Cambiaso, who travelled to Argentina, due to a familiar affair of the utmost importance.

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 #1 – WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 22

VALIENTE 12-10 PARK PLACE

Valiente: Adolfo Cambiaso 10* Bob Jornayvaz 0, Lucas Criado Jr. 6 (1 goal), Mariano “Peke” Gonzalez 6 (5). Total: 22.

*Subbed in by Camilo “Jeta” Castagnola 9, 5 goals.

Park Place: Hilario Ulloa 10 (2 goals), Juan Britos 9 (4), Andrey Borodin 0 (1), Jason Wates 3 (3). Total: 22

Score Valiente: (1-0) 2-3, 3-4, 4-7, 6-8, 9-10, 12-10.

Umpires: Julian Appleby & Gastón Lucero.                            Third man: Jamie Mirikitani.

Valiente’s rival for the final will be unveiled on Thursday February 23, following the second semifinal between Pilot and Shack Attack, to be played at 10am.  

The final of the CV Whitney Cup is due on Sunday, February 26, at 3pm.

CV WHITNEY CUP: Fixture & Teams

Cover photo by Agustina Fonda.