Tue 14th Mar 2017USPA Gold Cup Has BegunWins for Valiente and Orchard Hill
On Sunday 12 March the US 26 goal season began at International Polo Club, Palm Beach with the first match in the USPA Gold Cup. Audi made its 26 goal and 2017 season debuts, no doubt eager to repeat their 2015 USPA Gold Cup win. The tournament is the second jewel in US polo’s Triple Crown, following on from the C.V. Whitney Cup, and was first established in 1974 at Oak Brook Polo Club. Four teams are competing in the tournament and the first day saw a double bill of matches. First up Coca Cola faced Valiente in a narrow and hotly contested match. Despite the best efforts of Coca Cola, by the end of the second chukka, Bob Jornayvaz’s Valiente, fresh from their C.V. Whitney Cup win, held a convincing 6-2 lead, however Gillian Johnston’s team were able to make an impressive comeback and bring the scores to within one goal of each other. Despite Miguel Novillo Astrada’s last minute goal, Valiente’s early lead proved too much to overcome and the final score rested on 11-10 in favour of Valiente. The next match of the day was Orchard Hill versus Audi. A more even match saw both teams tied at 4-4 at half-time, but it was Audi who managed to pull away to take the lead in the fourth chukka – an advantage which was maintained throughout the fifth chukka as Orchard Hill were unable to secure a goal. However, Orchard Hill weren’t ready to give up and came back fighting in the final chukka, securing three goals courtesy of Facundo Pieres, which tied the scores at 7-7. As the clock ticked down the remaining seconds, it was once again Facundo Pieres who picked up the ball and scored the winning goal in a dramatic dash to goal, displaying why he is rated at 10 goals. The action continues on Sunday 19 March with Orchard Hill vs Valiente and Coca Cola vs Audi. USPA Gold Cup Teams: Valiente (26): Bob Jornayvaz (2), Matias Torres Zavaleta (6), Adolfo Cambiaso (10) & Diego Cavanagh (8) Orchard Hill (26): Steve Van Andel (1), Polito Pieres (10), Facundo Pieres (10) & Felipe Vercellino (5) Coca Cola (26): Gillian Johnston (2), Julian de Lussaretta (7), Julio Arellano (8) & Miguel Novillo Astrada (9) Audi (26): Marc Ganzi (2), Tomas Pieres (6), Gonzalito Pieres (9) & Rodrigo Andrade (9) Photograph: The USPA Gold Cup began at the weekend. By Alex Pacheo/Pololine |