Valiente’s bid for the Gauntlet of Polo is over. On Sunday 24 March, La Dolfina beat them 12-9 in the final of the USPA Gold Cup at the National Polo Center in Wellington, Florida, in a rematch of the C.V. Whitney Cup final.
The line-ups
La Dolfina were Jeff Hildebrand, Rufino Merlos, Poroto Cambiaso and Tomás Panelo. Valiente fielded Bob Jornayvaz, Mariano “Peke” Gonzalez Jr, Paco de Narvaez Jr and Adolfo Cambiaso. As in the previous final, the match meant father against son, with Adolfo on one side and Poroto on the other.
How La Dolfina won
La Dolfina led 5-4 at half-time and, in the words of reports, took control early and never really gave it back. Rain arrived in the second half, and Adolfo Cambiaso was shown a series of yellow cards that left Valiente a man short for four minutes at one stage. He did mount a late push, but La Dolfina held firm.
Tomás Panelo scored six goals and was named Most Valuable Player. Best Playing Pony went to Antu Walung Rumba, a ten-year-old mare ridden by Paco de Narvaez Jr in the fifth chukker. La Dolfina collected $50,000 for the victory, and it was the first USPA Gold Cup title for the organisation on American soil.
Revenge in the Gauntlet
The result mattered because Valiente had beaten La Dolfina 12-10 in the C.V. Whitney Cup final a month earlier, with Adolfo Cambiaso named MVP. That win made Valiente the favourites to sweep the Gauntlet, only the second team to do so. La Dolfina reversed the outcome, which leaves the U.S. Open Polo Championship as the one remaining prize in the series.
Each finalist also received $2,500 for a charity of its choice from U.S. Polo Assn. Global Licensing. La Dolfina nominated Polo for Life and Valiente picked the Work to Ride programme.
What next
The U.S. Open starts shortly and La Dolfina will be keen to carry momentum into it. With Panelo in this form and Poroto Cambiaso playing so well, they will be hard to beat. Valiente, for their part, will want to bounce back with Adolfo, who remains the most influential player in the world.
We will have the story from Wellington in April.
Sources: Town-Crier (Gold Cup), Town-Crier (C.V. Whitney Cup)
