Park Place have the trophy they wanted. On Sunday 17 July, on the Lawns at Cowdray Park, they beat the unbeaten Dubai Polo Team 12-9 to win the Gold Cup for the British Open Polo Championship for the first time.
A result that was in doubt
Dubai Polo Team went into the final with a perfect record in the tournament, and the early exchanges showed it. Park Place built a 4-1 lead, only for Dubai to level at 4-4 after the second chukka. From there it was a contest of nerve, and Park Place pulled clear.
Facundo Pieres, the Park Place captain, scored the decisive goal and a 60-yard penalty conversion in the final seconds. Francisco Elizalde and Louis Hine were also among the scorers. For Dubai, Camilo Castagnola scored twice before half-time and again later in the match, and Matt Perry and Jerónimo del Carril also scored.
The awards
Elizalde was named Most Valuable Player, and his own pony, Van Nikita, took Best Playing Pony. The Best Playing Patron Pony award went to Open Sting. The Hon Emily Pearson presented the Gold Cup to Pieres and to Park Place patron Andrey Borodin.
A first for Park Place
For a team that had already won the C.V. Whitney Cup in Wellington this year, and reached the final of the Cartier Queen’s Cup last month, this was the title that had been missing. Park Place were beaten by Great Oaks LL in the Queen’s Cup final, after a three-goal lead in the last chukkas, so the Gold Cup also felt like an answer to that.
The Gold Cup remains the title every high-goal team wants on its record, and winning it at Cowdray, with its long tradition and loyal crowds, made it a memorable afternoon.
The English season now has one more highlight to come at Guards Polo Club, where the HPA’s international day and the Coronation Cup take place on 23 July.
Sources: Cowdray Park Polo Club
