The Spanish summer season at Sotogrande has a habit of delivering a close finish, and the 43rd International Polo Tournament was no exception. Valiente, in their first Sotogrande season, beat Ellerston 14-11 at Santa Maria Polo Club to take the high-goal Gold Cup.
A final that refused to separate the teams
Valiente were led by Adolfo Cambiaso and included the American patron Bob Jornayvaz. Ellerston, with Gonzalito and Facundo Pieres, were never far behind. The scoreboard tells the story: 3-2 after the first chukker, 6-5 at the halfway point, then three consecutive ties at 8-8, 9-9 and 10-10 through chukkers three, four and five.
The sixth chukker settled it. Cambiaso put Valiente 12-10 ahead and the team kept the gap from there, finishing three goals clear. Cambiaso was named most valuable player, while Facundo Pieres’s pony One MagnÃfica took the best playing pony award even in defeat.
A clean sweep of the season
The Gold Cup was the third trophy of the Sotogrande season for Valiente, who had also won the Bronze Cup and the Silver Cup. Winning all three is rare: the last team to manage it was Bahar Jeffri’s Ahmibah in 2008, with Pablo MacDonough in the line-up. It is also a satisfying debut for an American foursome on a ground where Argentine and Spanish teams usually dominate the conversation.
Valiente’s Silver Cup campaign had opened with an 11-8 win over Halcyon Gallery in the high-handicap section. The pattern for the whole month was clear from then on: they won tight matches and kept winning them.
- Venue: Santa Maria Polo Club, Sotogrande.
- Final score: Valiente 14, Ellerston 11.
- Subsidiary final: Lechuza Caracas beat Halcyon Gallery 10-8 in the Memorial Pedro Domecq de la Riva.
- Presentation: Jordi Molla and Princess Beatrice de Orleans handed over the Gold Cup.
With Cowdray’s Gold Cup behind us, Sotogrande gave the European summer another big final, and Cambiaso once again finished it holding the cup. The Argentine high-goal season comes next, and we will be following it closely.
Sources: Equnews, ESPN Deportes
