The opening match of the 2017 Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup takes place on Tuesday 27th June between Edouard Carmignac’s Talandracas team and Corinne Ricard’s Murus Sanctus playing for the Carlos Gracida Memorial Trophy.
Corinne, the only woman playing in the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup, recently reached the semi-finals of the Queen’s Cup with her new line-up which contains 10 goaler Hilario Ulloa and Martin Podesta (4 goals) joining Facundo Sola. The second match of the British Open tournament will be played later that afternoon between La Bamba de Areco, the team of Jean Francois Decaux and El Remanso, one of the favourites of the local Cowdray crowd. El Remanso is composed of four English professionals brought together by Charlie Hanbury who is joined again by Ollie Cudmore playing off 5 goals, England captain James Beim (6 goals) and James Harper (6 goals).
Fresh from victory in the 2017 Queen’s Cup is Ben Soleimani’s RH Polo team with Adolfo Cambiaso, still considered the world’s number 1 player, playing alongside Rodrigo Andrade (8 goals) and young local player Tommy Beresford, 4 goals, who has a very exciting future ahead of him. Their Queen’s Cup Final opponents, La Indiana, are stabled on the Cowdray Estate and are also favourites with local spectators. Patron Michael Bickford’s 2017 line-up again includes 8 goal player Agustin Merlos and the USA team captain, Nic Roldan, who are joined this year by former England captain Luke Tomlinson.
Also based locally is George Hanbury, who has joined with Canadian 8 goal patron Fred Mannix Jnr in bringing the Sommelier team into the 2017 Jaeger LeCoultre Gold Cup with Alec White and Juan Zavaleta.
Winners of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup in both 2015 and 2016, the King Power Foxes side of Top Srivaddhanaprabha with the mighty talent of 10 goal brothers Gonzalito and Facundo Pieres, and English 1 goal player Charles Cooney, did not do well in the recent Queen’s Cup, but will still be hoping to make the 2017 Gold Cup a hat-trick of wins.
Making their debuts in the 2017 Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup are the Italian patron Alessandro Bazzoni with his Monterosso side and the Habtoor team of Mohammed Al Habtoor which includes Fran Elizalde, Nico Pieres, and a newcomer to the Gold Cup, Indro Strada.
With 20 matches in the league phase of the British Open Polo Championship, Cowdray Park Polo Club members and spectators have much to look forward to over the coming weeks. Quarter Finals take place over the weekend of 15/16th July, Semi Finals on Wednesday 19th July and the Final on Sunday 23rd July.
The full schedule of matches can be viewed on www.cowdraypolo.co.uk.
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Information supplied by Elizabeth Higgins, Press Officer, Cowdray Park Polo Club, Direct Tel: + 44 1730 810717, mobile: + 44 7887 994787
Cowdray Park Polo Club, The Estate Office, Midhurst, West Sussex, GU29 0AQ, Tel: + 44 1730 813257 www.cowdraypolo.co.uk