A game-changing Wednesday in Berkshire
Following Tuesday’s washout of matches due to torrential rain, Guards Polo Club rescheduled all the games to Wednesday, so that the league matches could conclude as scheduled. There was plenty of drama, surprise wins and unfortunately some injuries.
First on the line-up was RH Polo vs La Bamba de Areco. RH Polo confirmed their dominance of League Two, beating La Bamba de Areco 11-7 at the Black Bears Ground. They are therefore unbeaten and have earned an automatic qualification into Wednesday 14 June’s Semi-Final.
Next up was El Remanso v Monterosso Polo Team at Coworth Park. The El Remanso boys narrowly won the contest 14-13 to take the second spot in League One. They now go on to Saturday’s Semi-Final knockout stages where they will face King Power.
‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha and his King Power team fell foul to an unexpected defeat by Corinne Riccard’s Murus Sanctus, also played at Coworth Park. Murus Sanctus ran home with an 8-7 win over the 2015 winners of the Cartier Queen’s Cup, which lifted them to second place, behind RH Polo, in League Two.
The final game of the day – La Indiana vs Sommelier – played at Manor Farm in Sussex, was full of drama. The underdogs Sommelier ran out the winners 10-3. La Indiana have done enough already though and have automatically qualified for the Semi-Finals as they finished top of League One. However, the game was marred by injury with La Indiana’s Luke Tomlinson retiring hurt in the second chukka to be replaced by La Indiana’s team manager Ruki Baillieu. Then, Tincho Merlos collided with umpire, Charles Seavill, and also had to retire. His nephew Juan Cruz Merlos replaced him for the rest of the game. Sommelier’s Juan Gris Zavaleta also had to take some time out for an injury so the game finished much later than planned.
The results of the League matches are as follows:
League One:
1. La Indiana
2. El Remanso
3. Talandracas
4. Sommelier
5. Monterosso
League Two:
1. RH Polo
2. Murus Sanctus
3. King Power Foxes
4. Sifani
5. La Bamba de Areco
The next Cartier Queen’s Cup matches are as follows:
Saturday 10 June – Semi-Final Knockout matches
12pm: Les Lions – El Remanso v King Power Foxes – the winner will play RH Polo.
3pm: Guards Polo Club – Murus Sanctus v Talandracas – the winner will play La Indiana.
Sunday 11 June – Subsidiary Semi-Final Knockout Games
12pm: Ground TBC – Sommelier vs La Bamba de Areco
3pm: Ground TBC – Sifani vs Monterosso
The Cartier Queen’s Cup Teams:
El Remanso (21): Charlie Hanbury (4), Ollie Cudmore (5), James Beim (6) & James Harper (6)
Murus Sanctus (22): Corinne Ricard (0), Hilario Ulloa (10), Facundo Sola (8) & ‘Min’ Podesta (4)
La Indiana (22): Michael Bickford (1), Nic Roldan (7), Agustin Merlos (8)/Juan Cruz Merlos (5 substitute 7 June) & Luke Tomlinson (6)/Jack ‘Ruki’ Baillieu (6 substitute 7 June)
RH Polo(22): Ben Soleimani (0), Tommy Beresford (4), Adolfo Cambiaso (10) & Rodrigo de Andrade (8)
Monterosso (22): Alessandro Bazzoni (1), Ignacio Toccalino (8), Santiago Toccalino (8) & Matt Perry (5)
La Bamba De Areco (22): Jean-François Deçaux (0), Diego Cavanagh (8), Cristian Laprida (8) & Rodrigo Rueda Jnr (6)
Sifani (21): Hilali Noordeen (0), John Paul Clarkin (7), Julian de Lusarreta (7) & Guillermo Terrera (8)
Talandracas (22): Edouard Carmignac (0), Guillermo Caset (9), ‘Pelon’ Stirling (10) & Jack Hyde (3)
King Power (22): ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha (1), Charles Cooney (1)/Hugo Taylor (1), Gonzalo Pieres (10) & Facundo Pieres (10)
Sommelier (22): George Hanbury (3), Juan Gris Zavaleta (7), Fred Mannix Jnr (8) & Alec White (4)
A full report of The Cartier Queen’s Cup tournament will feature in the July issue of Polo Times. To subscribe click here.
Photograph: Charlie Hanbury races up the field for El Remanso. By Tony Ramirez/©www.imagesofpolo.com