The Argentine Open, the third and biggest leg of the Triple Crown, is under way at Palermo, and the champions have started as they mean to continue. La Dolfina, carrying a 40-goal handicap, beat La Esquina 24-6 in their first match of the 124th edition.
La Dolfina’s opener
Juan Martín Nero led the scoring with nine goals, five of them from penalties. Adolfo Cambiaso added six, David Stirling five and Pablo Mac Donough four. La Esquina, rated at 29 goals, found their scorer in Mariano Aguerre, who managed three. The same day, La Aguada Las Monjitas (31) beat La Irenita (30) 12-7.
What came next
The next day’s zone B matches were due to see Ellerstina (39) take on Chapaleufú (30), and Alegría (35) face Cría Yatay (31).
The story so far this season
La Dolfina have already won the opening leg. In the Tortugas Open final in early October they beat Ellerstina 12-5 at Palermo for their fifth consecutive title in that tournament. Cambiaso led the scoring with seven goals, with Facundo Pieres scoring five for Ellerstina. The win extended La Dolfina’s unbeaten run at Palermo to 18 matches. It was the first leg of a season in which they had the chance to put right the miss of 2016, when Ellerstina’s Hurlingham Open win denied them the Triple Crown.
Why it matters
- The Triple Crown: the Tortugas Open, the Hurlingham Open and the Argentine Open are played in that order, and winning all three in one season is the biggest feat in Argentine polo. La Dolfina’s only defeat of the season so far came against Alegría in the Hurlingham Open semi-finals, which ended any chance of the treble this year.
- The handicaps: La Dolfina and Ellerstina are the two highest-rated sides in the draw at 40 and 39 goals, so most people expect them to meet again.
It is early, and a 24-6 result against a 29-goal side tells us about La Dolfina’s hunger rather than anything about the final. But the message to the chasing pack is clear. Alegría, who beat them at Hurlingham, and the rest will need to find something extra if they want to stop Cambiaso and company at Palermo.
Sources: Diario de Cuyo (Argentine Open opener), Diario de Cuyo (Tortugas Open), Diario de Cuyo (season summary)
