Guards Polo Club closed its high-goal programme on Sunday 27 August with the 16-goal Land Rover Duke of Cornwall Trophy, and the winners were Andrey Borodin’s Park Place, who edged Khaled Badr-El-Din’s Golden Falcons 8-7½ over four tight chukkas on the Queen’s Ground.
A final decided by a half-goal
Golden Falcons received a half-goal start, and it mattered. Carlos Ulloa put Park Place on the scoreboard first, and the blue-shirted side never gave up the lead, though it was never comfortable. James Beim and James Harper paired up well for the Falcons, supported by their patron, and the Falcons kept coming at Park Place in bright, hot sunshine.
Every time it looked as if the Falcons might move in front, Juan Britos produced something to keep his team ahead. Britos and Chris Mackenzie were an equally strong partnership at the other end. The last chukka was a tense battle: a Harper penalty and a Beim goal brought the Falcons back to within touching distance, but time ran out before they could take the lead.
Awards
- Most Valuable Player: Juan Britos (Park Place), who collected the Land Rover prize.
- Best Playing Pony: Aguada Distinta, owned and ridden by Britos, who played her in the first and fourth chukkas.
- Trophy: presented to Borodin by Andrew Robb, a director of Jaguar Land Rover.
The sub-final
Earlier on the same day, Mo Sheikh’s Bridge House of Twyford beat Kola Karim’s Shoreline 7-5 in the sub-final. Bridge House’s Jack Richardson and their patron did the damage in the second chukka, building a 5-1 half-time lead, and Shoreline battled all the way to the end without quite catching up.
Land Rover also hosted a learn-to-play session for its guests with the Guards Polo Academy and Max Charlton, the brand’s polo ambassador, at Smith’s Lawn. The television presenter Matt Baker and the England rugby international Jason Robinson were among those who tried the game.
With that, Guards’ high-goal season is done for the year, and Park Place have a trophy to show for a strong finish.
Sources: Guards Polo Club
