The Brunei and Lechuza Caracas teams won their respective matches and thus qualified for the semifinals of the Cartier Gold Cup, the most important Cup of the 45th INDI International Polo Tournament at Santa María Polo Club in Sotogrande.
Brunei defeated the already qualified Dubai by 12-10 and earned a spot on the decisive stage. Simultaneously, Lechuza Caracas defeated Ayala Polo Team by 16-14 and is the third qualified team. Now there is just one spot left in the semis, and two teams, Ayala and Dos Lunas A&G Banca Privada, fighting for that spot.
The fourth qualified team will be revealed on the last qualifiers to be played on Tuesday at Los Pinos, the main fields of the 45th INDI International Polo tournament, with the matches between Ayala Polo Club vs. Brunei, and Lechuza Caracas vs. Dos Lunas A&G Banca Privada.
Juan Martín Nero, Lechuza Caracas: “For us, this match was very important to play on Tuesday at ease, knowing that we are already qualified and allowing the horses to relax a bit for the Semifinals on Thursday. Besides, we played a good match, the functioning of the team was good and we are very pleased about it. Matt (Perry) complemented the team quite well and now, on the Gold Cup, we know how to function and we are performing well before the teams of great level that we have to encounter.”
Matt Perry, Lechuza Caracas: “To be honest, I have had little time to adapt, I was coming from a different kind of polo in England, without the pace of high goal, but I feel better day after day, I am catching up, getting to know the horses and functioning well with the team. Honestly, I wasn’t very aware of what was going on in Sotogrande but I got the call, I hopped on a plane and here I am, enjoying the experience and trying to collaborate with the team the best that I can. To be playing in Sotogrande, on this time of the year, its really important for me. To be on this tournament, with the best teams and organization, it is truly a dream come true”
On Friday, Dubai Polo Team added their third victory in a row in the Cartier Gold Cup, after defeating this afternoon Lechuza Caracas by 11-10 and is the first semifinalist from the most important trophy of the 45th INDI International Polo Tournament. The team formed by Rashid Albwardy, Adolfo Cambiaso, Alejo Taranco, and Santiago Stirling pushed it to the maximum to defeat the powerful Lechuza team, and adding their third victory which enables them to go directly to semifinals.
At the same time, but on the Los Pinos Field 3, Ayala defeated in a tough match Dos Lunas A&G Banca Privada by 11-10 as well, recovering from the bad debut on the Cartier Gold Cup, and now they are more optimistic towards the final phase of the contest. The two Sotogrande-based organizations played a great match filled with good technique and emotions.
The match had both teams at a very even pace in practically every chukka, alternating the leadership of the game and scoreboard. The first two periods were Ayala’s, but from chukka 3, Dos Lunas A&G Banca Privada stepped up and took charge. Both teams were even on 10 goals each on the last chukka, and finally it was Ayala with a goal by Ignacio Toccalino (that replaced Nicolás Pieres) the team that took the victory home.
Teams (High Goal):
Dubai Polo Team (22)
Rashid Albwardi (2)
Adolfo Cambiaso (10)
Alejo Ortiz de Taranco (6)
Santiago Stirling (4)
Brunei (22)
Pablo Mac Donough (10)
Bahar Jeffrey (1)
David Stirling (10)
Josh Cork (1)
Lechuza Caracas (22)
Víctor Vargas (1)
Julián de Lusarreta (6)
Juan Martín Nero (10)
Juan Jauretche (5)
Ayala Polo Team (22)
Íñigo Zobel (0)
Jack Hide (3)
Facundo Pieres (10)
Nicolás Pieres (9)
Dos Lunas – A&G Banca Privada (22)
Hugo Lewis (2)
Pascual Sáinz de Vicuña (6)
Lucas James (7)
Juan Agustín García Grossi (7)