Mon 5th Oct 2026La Natividad La Dolfina Retain Hurlingham Open Defending champions begin 2026 Triple Crown with another title
La Natividad La Dolfina have picked up where they left off, securing the first title of the 2026 Argentine Triple Crown with an 18-14 victory over La Hache in the Final of the 133rd Hurlingham Open on Sunday 4 October after a slight rain delay shifted the match by a day.
The defending champions arrived at the historic Hurlingham Club as favourites, but La Hache were certainly not there simply to make up the numbers. The opening exchanges were tight, with the scores level at 1-1 after the first chukka, Poroto Cambiaso having drawn first blood only to be reposted by a huge neck shot goal from Hilario Ulloa. Play continued like this for the first two chukkas with La Natividad La Dolfina holding only a slender 3-2 advantage after the second.
From there, however, the 40 goal combination began to show exactly why they remain the team to beat. With Poroto Cambiaso and the Castagnola brothers increasingly influential, they moved 6-3 ahead after the third before another unanswered three goals opened up a commanding 9-3 halftime advantage.
To their credit, La Hache refused to let the Final run away from them. Hilario Ulloa and Benjamín Panelo led the response as they reduced the deficit to 11-7 after the fifth, but every time La Hache threatened to make serious inroads, the champions found another gear. La Natividad La Dolfina stretched their lead to 15-9 and then 17-12 with one chukka remaining.
There was still some late drama as Ulloa and Panelo brought La Hache back to within three at 17-14, but the door was firmly closed when Adolfo Cambiaso found Barto Castagnola for the final goal, sealing an 18-14 victory and another Ayrshire Cup.
It continues a remarkable run for La Natividad La Dolfina, who have now won four consecutive Triple Crown tournaments and back-to-back Hurlingham Opens with this conjoined team. The victory also delivered another milestone for Adolfo Cambiaso, whose 17th Hurlingham Open title extends his record as the tournament’s most successful player. Barto and Jeta Castagnola and Poroto Cambiaso have each now won the title four times.
It was also quite an afternoon for Barto Castagnola. His four goals were accompanied by both the Juan Carlos Harriott MVP Award and Javier Novillo Astrada Best Player of the Final Award, while two of his ponies, Negra Milonga and Luca Gyulia, collected Best Playing Pony honours. La Hache’s Hilario Ulloa finished as the Final’s leading scorer with seven goals.
With Hurlingham secured, La Natividad La Dolfina have laid down the first marker of the Argentine season. Next comes the 86th Tortugas Open before attention turns to Palermo and the 133rd Argentine Open – and the champions’ pursuit of another clean sweep of the Triple Crown.
133rd Hurlingham Open Final teams:
La Natividad La Dolfina (40): Camilo ‘Jeta’ Castagnola (10), Adolfo ‘Poroto’ Cambiaso (10), Adolfo Cambiaso (10) & Bartolomé ‘Barto’ Castagnola Jr. (10)
La Hache (34): Hilario Ulloa (9), Carlos María Ulloa (8), Benjamín Panelo (8) & Tomás Panelo (9)
Photograph: La Natividad La Dolfina retain The Hurlingham Open title after defeating La Hache. By Matías Callejo / Prensa AAP
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