The Argentine Triple Crown has begun with a thriller. On Saturday 8 October at Tortugas Country Club, La Natividad beat the defending champions Ellerstina 14-13 in the 82nd Tortugas Open, with Barto Castagnola scoring the winning goal in the final minute.
From 4-0 down
Ellerstina started brilliantly and led 4-0 after the first chukka. Camilo Castagnola scored twice in the second chukka to bring La Natividad back, but Ellerstina still led by three goals after the fifth chukka. In the sixth, Camilo converted a 40-yard penalty and then scored three unanswered goals to make it 12-12.
Facundo Pieres put Ellerstina ahead again with a penalty in the seventh chukka, but Ignatius du Plessis levelled at 13-13 with a couple of minutes to play, and Barto Castagnola scored the winner in the last minute.
The players and awards
La Natividad were Camilo Castagnola, Pablo Pieres, Bartolomé Castagnola Jr. and Ignatius du Plessis. Camilo scored ten goals in the final and finished as top scorer of the tournament with 28. Ellerstina were Facundo Pieres, Hilario Ulloa, Gonzalo Pieres Jr. and Nicolás Pieres, with Facundo scoring seven goals. He took the MVP award, even though he was on the losing side. Open Chequera, ridden by Facundo, took the Best Polo Argentino Bred award.
The semi-finals
La Natividad had reached the final with a 10-9 win over La Dolfina Saudi, with Camilo Castagnola scoring in the extra 30 seconds, while Ellerstina beat Cria La Dolfina 11-9. Eight teams, rated between 29 and 39 goals, took part.
What it means
This was La Natividad’s first Tortugas Open, and it completed the one Triple Crown title they had not yet won: they are the reigning champions of both the Hurlingham Open and the Argentine Open. Ellerstina had won the previous three Tortugas titles, so the result ends a long run, and it again shows how competitive the top of Argentine polo has become.
The Triple Crown continues with the Hurlingham Open and then the Argentine Open at Palermo. With La Natividad defending both, and La Dolfina and Ellerstina looking to reply, the next two months should be fascinating.
Sources: Pololine, Pololine (final preview)
