In the packed U.S. Polo Assn. Stadium at the International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC), Las Monjitas defeated La Indiana, 11-10 to win the C.V. Whitney Cup, the first event of the 2020 GAUNTLET OF POLO. With the victory, Las Monjitas earned the $100,000 first-place prize, while La Indiana earned $25,000 for the second-place prize totaling $125,000 in prize money for the first leg of the GAUNTLET OF POLO.
In addition to the C.V. Whitney Cup, which commemorated its 40th year of competition and was presented by C.V. Whitney’s Great Niece Whitney Munn Miller and, her son, Royal Douglas III, the USPA Gold Cup follows February 23-March 22, and the GAUNTLET concludes March 21-April 19 with the U.S. Open Polo Championship.
The GAUNTLET OF POLO is an elite three-tournament series, and this year features 14 of the world’s best polo teams and five 10-Goal Players, the top level for polo players. The 10-Goal players competing this year include Sapo Caset, Facundo Pieres, Gonzalo Pieres, Pelon Stirling and Polito Pieres. Facundo Pieres and Gonzalo Pieres were part of Team Pilot’s 2019 GAUNTLET Championship team.
The series is hosted by International Polo Club Palm Beach and sanctioned by The United States Polo Association, the parent of USPA Global Licensing (USPAGL) who oversees the U.S. Polo Assn. brand. The GAUNTLET OF POLO offers the richest prize in the sport of polo today, with a $1,000,000 prize fund. If Las Monjitas can win the remaining two GAUNTLET OF POLO tournaments, they will earn a $500,000 bonus. In the new 2020 prize format, second place teams share in the total prize fund. The winning team of the C.V. Whitney Cup and of the USPA Gold Cup will each receive $100,000 per tournament, and the second-place teams will receive $25,000. The winning team of the U.S. Open Polo Championship will receive $200,000 and the second-place team will receive $50,000. Should a team win all three USPA tournaments, they will receive an additional $500,000 bonus and be crowned the GAUNTLET Champion. In 2019, Team Pilot captured all three events to win $1 million over the course of the series.
FINAL CV WHITNEY CUP: LAS MONJITAS 11-10 LA INDIANA
Las Monjitas: Camilo Bautista 0, Mackenzie Weisz 3 (2 goals), Francisco Elizalde 9 (8), David Stirling 10 (1). Total: 22.
La Indiana: Michael Bickford 2, Jeff Hall 6 (3 goals), Polito Pieres 10 (5), Santiago Gomez Romero 4 (1). Total: 22.
Score Las Monjitas: 1-0, 2-2, 4-4, 5-5, 9-6, 11-10.
MVP: Francisco Elizalde.
BPP: Dolfina Molinera. Played by Francisco Elizalde.
BPP by the Argentine Breeders Association: Dolfina Molinera (Open Chimento and Dolfina Milenaria). Played by Francisco Elizalde.
GAUNTLET OF POLO CALENDAR
C.V. WHITNEY CUP: Feb 5-23.
USPA GOLD CUP: Feb 22 – Mar 22.
U.S. OPEN POLO CHAMPIONSHIP: Mar 21 – Apr 19.