The 126th Argentine Open, the most important polo tournament in the world, kicked off on Saturday. For a third year in a row, ten teams are competing for the prestigious title. Defending champions La Dolfina will play for their seventh consecutive championship.
Even though the day started with some rains, little by little the sun took over and it ended up on excellent conditions. There were also some debutants, like Juan Jauretche (La Irenita) and Lucas Díaz Alberdi (La Aguada), who played the Open for the first ever time. On the other hand, Juan Britos, who played the Argentine Open in 2018 played his first match at field 1.
Both La Ensenada and La Dolfina Polo Ranch scored convincing wins but the matches were not that attractive. Lastly, Palermo’s ground 1 was clearly in much better conditions than in 2018.
LA ENSENADA 14-7 LA IRENITA
La Ensenada: Facundo Fernández Llorente 7 (2 goals), Juan Gris Zavaleta 8 (2), Juan Martín Zubía 8 (7, 6 penalties), Jero del Carril 7 (3). Total: 30.
La Irenita: Tito Ruiz Guiñazú 8, Juan Jauretche 6, Clemente Zavaleta 7 (2 goals), Diego Araya 7 (5, 4 penalties). Total: 28.
Score La Ensenada: 1-1, 4-2, 5-2, 6-4, 10-5, 10-7, 11-7, 14-7.
Umpires: Federico Martelli and Rafael Silva. Third man: Gonzalo López Vargas.
Best Polo Argentino: Irenita Suave (Irenita Lunático x Sugerencia). Played by: Diego Araya.
LA DOLFINA POLO RANCH 17-9 LA AGUADA
La Dolfina Polo Ranch: Guillermo Terrera 8 (3 goals), Juan Britos 8 (6, 4 penalties), Diego Cavanagh 8 (8, 6 penalties), Jejo Taranco 8. Total: 32.
La Aguada: Lucas Díaz Alberdi 7 (2 goals), Alfredo Bigatti 8, Alejandro Novillo Astrada 8 (5 penalties), Ignacio Novillo Astrada 9 (2). Total: 32.
Score La Dolfina Polo Ranch: 3-1, 3-3, 5-4, 7-7, 9-7, 12-7, 15-8, 17-9.
Umpires: Gastón Lucero and José I. Araya. Third man: Martín Pascual.
Best Polo Argentino: Morejon Patita (Irenita Infame x Mala Pata). Played by Juan Britos.
Nomination 1: Dolfina Cora (Durazno x Small Pearson). Played by Diego Cavanagh.
Nomination 2: Future Rayuela (Open Sunset x Rusita). Played by Juan Britos.
The Argentine Open will continue on Sunday:
2pm: La Albertina Abu Dhabi vs La Natividad
4:30pm: Las Monjitas vs Cría Yatay