Thu 4th Dec 2025La Natividad La Dolfina Qualify for Argentine Open Final Plus, La Zeta Kazak keep their 2026 Triple Crown hopes alive
After delays due to rain, the 132nd Argentine Open Championship continued at Palermo on Wednesday 3 December with two important matches; the first match between La Zeta Kazak and Los Machitos was pivotal for La Zeta Kazak as they needed a win to keep their 2026 Triple Crown hopes alive and the second match was essentially a Semi Final with La Natividad La Dolfina and UAE Polo vying for a spot in the Final.
The day’s opening game saw La Zeta Kazak face Los Machitos El Refugio, with La Zeta Kazak determined to achieve their goal – a much-needed win to secure a spot in the playoff against La Aguada Don Ercole, recent winners of the Cámara de Diputados Cup. And they did their job: La Zeta Kazak beat Los Machitos El Refugio 16–10, with five goals from Nico Pieres, earning their second victory in the tournament. This result has major consequences for the 2026 Triple Crown. A win by La Zeta Kazak means Sol de Agosto are now condemned to play the qualifying tournament in 2026, falling out of the main draw. At the same time, La Zeta Kazak have secured at least a tiebreaker – if La Dolfina II defeat La Ensenada on Thursday, 4 December, La Zeta Kazak and La Ensenada will have to play each other to decide who goes on to the playoff against La Aguada Don Ercole for the final spot in the 2026 Triple Crown. Otherwise, La Zeta Kazak will take the place directly and compete in the Repechage.
The second match of the day saw the sole contender for The Triple Crown, La Natividad La Dolfina, continue their undefeated run with a 16-14 match against UAE Polo, with the President of Argentina, Javier Milei, watching the match in Palermo. The win was their 11th consecutive victory of the season and secured them a spot in Sunday’s Final. The two teams had previously met in The Hurlingham Open Final and Wednesday’s match was one of the most anticipated of the year between two powerhouses. Polito Pieres opened the scores, but La Natividad La Dolfina replied quickly with three unanswered goals by Adolfo Cambiaso, Jeta Castagnola and Poroto Cambiaso to take an early 3-1 lead, extending it to 7-3 by the end of the third chukka before UAE fought back. A whirlwind fourth chukka saw penalties from Polito Pieres and Tomás Panelo close the gap to 5-7, a goal from Jeta restore a three-goal advantage, and another remarkable goal from Pieres reduced the gap to two goals, 8-6 in favour of La Natividad La Dolfina, at half time. The fifth chukka followed a similar pattern, with Juan Martín Nero reducing the gap to one and UAE nearly levelling before two goals from Poroto restored a three-goal lead, only for UAE to answer with three unanswered goals to trail 10-9. A hard-fought sixth and seventh chukka kept the match tight, and late goals from Nero and Panelo levelled it at 13-13 with one chukka remaining. In a thrilling final chukka, Panelo put UAE ahead 14-13, Poroto converted a 30 yard penalty to tie, and Jeta Castagnola scored two spectacular unanswered goals to seal a 16-14 win and send La Natividad La Dolfina into the final of The 132nd Argentine Polo Open Championship.
The tournament continues today with two more matches: La Ensenada Clonargen vs La Dolfina II, the latter a team that emerged from the qualifying tournament and that urgently needs a victory to continue with chances of pre-qualifying to the Triple Crown 2026; and Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufú Vista vs La Irenita La Hache Clinova in another important ‘Semi Final’ which sees Pablo Mac Donough will return to the starting lineup after his collarbone injury.
Photograph: La Natividad La Dolfina secured their Final spot with a 16-14 win against UAE Polo. By Matías Callejo / AAP Press
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