Los Dragones find fifth chukka form to secure victory in Deauville
Sunday 29 August saw Los Dragones defeat Mungo in a closely matched game to secure the hugely prestigious Coupe d’Or at the iconic Deauville Polo Club. After competition over the last three weeks between the six entrants, the Final saw two well balanced and matched teams, with neither side boasting high handicapped players, but instead players of the same level with two very efficient team captains. As you would expect it was a fast and flowing game with the outcome hard to call and so for the first four chukkas it was anybody’s game with goal matched for goal. The results spoke for themselves with the score tied a four apiece at the end of the fourth.However, in the fifth and final chukka Los Dragones turned on the afterburners in the form of great field goals including two spectacular backs from Martin Joaquin (MVP of the Final) and Nicolas Maderna (top scorer of the Final with an impressive four goal tally).
It was too much for Mungo to reply to and Los Dragones reaped the results of their fifth chukka blitz with a confident 9-6 win. Solterona played by Simón Zavaleta, was named the Best Playing Pony.Sam Sztarkman, the best amateur player of this Final, shed tears of joy as the bell rang the end of the game. With his confidence at a high he will tackle another coveted title next weekend: The Open de France Engel & Völkers in Chantilly (3 to 19 September), “We will start the tournament gently, we first want to enjoy our victory in this Coupe d’Or, but of course we will do all we can to also show up strongly in the Open.” In the Subsidiary Final it was Talandracas who secured a 10½-9 goal win against Barriere; whilst in the Coupe De Bronze Teledou saw off Baltov with an 8-4 win. A full report of all the action from Deauville from this tournament will follow in Polo Times.
Coupe d’Or Final Cup Teams:
Los Dragones (16): Sam Sztarkman (1), Martin Joaquin (5), Jota Chavanne (5) & Nicolas Corti Maderna (5)
Mungo (16): Patrick Eisenchteter (1), Pierre-Henri N’Goumou (6,) Juan Jose Storni (5) & Simon Zavaleta (4)
Photograph: Los Dragones, winners of The Talacrest Coupe d’Or. By R&B Presse/Pascal Renauldon