The Queen’s Cup final went to extra time, and it was King Power Foxes who held their nerve. On Sunday 14 June, at Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park, they beat Dubai 11-10 to win the 2015 Cartier Queen’s Cup, and the trophy was presented by Her Majesty the Queen to team patron Aiyawatt Top Srivaddhanaprabha.
A new line-up that paid off
This was the first major title for the King Power Foxes, and it came with a freshly assembled team. Top Srivaddhanaprabha was joined by the Pieres brothers, ten-goalers Facundo and Gonzalito, and the young English one-goal player Hugo Lewis. The pairing of the Pieres brothers, put together for this British season, looked like a stroke of good planning by the end of a tournament that lasted three weeks and brought together twelve teams.
On the other side, Dubai were led by Adolfo Cambiaso, who had arrived in search of a ninth Queen’s Cup. Cambiaso is the most successful player in the history of this competition, which made a one-goal defeat in extra time a particularly narrow miss.
The Cartier Trophy too
King Power had a second reason to celebrate that afternoon.
What it means for the season
- Zacara had arrived at Guards as the holders, with Juan MartÃn Nero in the line-up in place of Facundo Pieres.
- The Queen has attended the final of the cup that bears her name since it was first presented in 1960.
- The high-goal focus now moves to Cowdray Park and the British Open.
The King Power name is one we will be hearing a lot more this summer. A side with two of the best ten-goal players in the world, a patron who plays at a good standard and a young Englishman who is clearly improving is exactly what the sport needs, and a family that has invested so heavily in English polo deserves to see it pay off.
Sources: Horse & Hound, King Power, Sussex Express
