The 126th Argentine Open, the most important polo tournament in the world, resumed on Sunday in Palermo. 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.
First up, at field number 2, defending champions La Dolfina made their debut beating La Irenita, who came from the qualification tournament, by 19 goals to 7. The Cañuelas based team made some changes on the horselist and gave the opportunity to the ones who didn’t have many chances so far in the season. Anyway, and with Matías Mac Donough on La Dolfina’s corner, Adolfo Cambiaso’s team showed superiority from the very beginning and kept it during all 8 chukkers.
Next, on a match that was supposed to be even, La Dolfina Polo Ranch and La Ensenada took over field number 1. Both of them scored very important wins on their debut one week ago. But the final result was really surprising since not too many people imagined a 9-goal difference in the scoreboard. The four players from La Dolfina Polo Ranch had a very good performance, were really solid, and claimed a convincing win.
LA DOLFINA 19-7 LA IRENITA
La Dolfina: Adolfo Cambiaso 10 (7 goals, 4 penalties), Pelon Stirling 10 (6), Pablo Mac Donough 10 (4), Juan Martín Nero 10 (2). Total: 40.
La Irenita: Tito Ruiz Guiñazú 8 (2 goals), Juan Jauretche 6, Clemente Zavaleta 7 (1), Diego Araya 7 (4, 2 penalties and 1 safety penalty). Total: 28.
Score La Dolfina: 2-0, 6-1, 8-1, 10-4, 14-4, 15-4, 18-6, 19-7.
Umpires: Federico Martelli and Gastón Lucero. Third man: Gonzalo López Vargas.
Best Polo Argentino of the match: Irenita Trompa (Dolfina Cuarteto e Irenita Trompada). Jugador: Pablo Mac Donough.
Nominación 1: Dolfina C07 Lapa Clon 7 (Genética Monarch / El Sol). Jugador: Adolfo Cambiaso.
Nominación 2: Principio Jaimita (Gete Galgo y Open Harley). Jugador: Adolfo Cambiaso.
LA DOLFINA POLO RANCH 16-7 LA ENSENADA
La Dolfina Polo Ranch: Guillermo Terrera 8 (4 goals), Juan Britos 8 (3 penalties), Diego Cavanagh 8 (8, 5 de penal), Jejo Taranco 8 (1). Total: 32.
La Ensenada: Facundo Fernández Llorente 7 (2 goals), Juan Gris Zavaleta 8, Juan Martín Zubía 8 (4, 3 penalties), Jero del Carril 7 (1). Total: 30.
Score La Dolfina Polo Ranch: 4-0, 5-1, 8-2, 10-4, 12-4, 12-6, 16-6, 16-7.
Umpires: Martín Aguerre and Rafael Silva. Third man: Guillermo Villanueva.
Best Polo Argentino of the match: Dolfina Centuria (Durazno x Dolfina Milenaria). Played by Guillermo Terrera.
Nomination 1: Irenita Lady Gaga (Losmachitos Líbano x Lady Gaga). Played by Facundo Fernández Llorente.
Nomination 2: Delmay Noche Buena (Open Iluminado y Larga Noche). Played by Diego Cavanagh.
The Argentine Open will continue on Sunday:
2pm: Ellerstina vs La Natividad
4:30pm: Las Monjitas vs La Albertina Abu Dhabi