The opening leg of the 2021 Gauntlet of Polo ended in the best way a polo final can: golden-goal overtime. On 7 March at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida, Park Place beat Scone 11-10 to lift the C.V. Whitney Cup and the $100,000 first prize.
The route to the final
Scone arrived in the final with a perfect 4-0 record and the tag of favourites, with Adolfo Cambiaso and Peke Gonzalez in the line-up. In the semi-finals, Scone beat La Indiana 13-8, with Gonzalez scoring seven goals, while Park Place saw off Coca-Cola 13-9.
Park Place’s win in the semi-final was built on defence as much as attack: Matt Coppola scored three goals and anchored the back line. The line-up for the final was Coppola, Hilario Ulloa, Juan Britos and the young Jack Whitman, who was invited into the side by Ulloa.
How the final unfolded
The final was never more than a goal apart after any chukker. Hilario Ulloa scored seven for Park Place, with Juan Britos adding two. Cambiaso and Gonzalez each scored four for Scone. With about 50 seconds left, Scone were a goal ahead, but Ulloa won the throw-in, drove down the field and sent a neck shot through as time ran out to level the score.
In overtime, Ulloa found young Jack Whitman, who hit the shot that decided the match. Whitman was named Most Valuable Player, and the Best Playing Pony award went to Ulloa’s Lavina Heroica. The Argentine Bred award went to Mega Big Bay, ridden by Britos.
Why it matters
Ending the unbeaten run of a side built around Cambiaso is a statement from Park Place. It also sets up a lively spring: the USPA Gold Cup and the U.S. Open Polo Championship follow, and these two teams look likely to meet again.
It is the kind of match that reminds us why the Whitney Cup, the first leg of the Gauntlet, is worth following.
Sources: Polo+10, Polo+10 (semi-finals report)
