A year after losing the final to Pilot, Las Monjitas have won the C.V. Whitney Cup. On Sunday 23 February, at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, they beat La Indiana 11-10 in a final that was not settled until the closing minutes.
A tight final
The match was level for three chukkas in a row before a late push, led by Pelon Stirling and Francisco Elizalde, gave Las Monjitas the lead. They then held on to the end. The winning side was Camilo Bautista (the team’s owner), Francisco Elizalde, Pelon Stirling and Mackenzie Weisz. La Indiana, who had beaten the reigning Gauntlet champions Pilot in the semi-finals, lined up with Jeff Hall, Michael Bickford (the team’s owner), Polito Pieres and Santiago Gomez Romero.
- Score: Las Monjitas 11, La Indiana 10.
- Prize money: $100,000 for the winners, $25,000 for the runners-up.
- Venue: the U.S. Polo Assn. Stadium at the International Polo Club.
The Gauntlet of Polo, second year
The Whitney Cup is the first leg of the 2020 Gauntlet of Polo. The series runs through three tournaments: the C.V. Whitney Cup, the USPA Gold Cup (22 February to 22 March) and the U.S. Open Polo Championship (21 March to 19 April). Fourteen teams are in the field, and there are five ten-goal players: Sapo Caset, Facundo Pieres, Gonzalo Pieres, Pelon Stirling and Polito Pieres.
The prize fund totals $1,000,000. The Whitney Cup and Gold Cup winners each get $100,000, the U.S. Open winners $200,000, and a team that wins all three takes a $500,000 bonus and the title of Gauntlet Champion. Pilot did exactly that last year. Now Las Monjitas, who have won the first leg, can earn the same bonus by winning the remaining two. It will not be easy, but the Whitney Cup win gives them the best possible platform.
Our view
An 11-10 final is the sort of result that makes high-goal polo so compelling. Neither team could be certain of the outcome until the very end, and the margin was a single goal. We think Las Monjitas will have gained a great deal of confidence from it. For La Indiana, beating Pilot and coming within a goal of the title was a fine week as well.
The U.S. Open final is scheduled to be televised by CBS Sports on Sunday 26 April, and we will be following every game between now and then.
Sources: Newswire (USPA release)
