The Argentine season has opened with a final that could hardly have been closer. At the start of October, La Natividad beat La Dolfina 13-12 in the Hurlingham Open, the first leg of the Triple Crown, with Facundo Pieres scoring the winning goal about 30 seconds before the end of the last chukker.
A rematch of recent finals
The two teams have become the great rivalry of Argentine polo. La Natividad, the team built around the Castagnola brothers, Bartolomé and Camilo, took on La Dolfina, the Cambiaso family’s side, in a final that went down to the wire. Pieres, who plays for La Natividad, was the match-winner, and La Natividad had to withstand heavy pressure from their opponents right up to the last whistle.
It continued a recent pattern. Last year the sides split the first two tournaments and then met in the Palermo final, where La Natividad won. This year they have started with a victory for the Castagnola team, which gives them a psychological edge for the weeks ahead.
Why Hurlingham matters
The Hurlingham Open is the first of the three tournaments that form the Argentine Triple Crown. It is followed by the Tortugas Open and then the Argentine Open at Palermo. Winning the first leg does not secure anything, but it is a statement of intent, and it matters in a calendar that runs for only about two months. With the season so short, there is little time for teams to recover from a setback.
Looking ahead
Tortugas follows in the coming weeks. La Dolfina will need to regroup, and with so many players on both sides at the top of the handicap list, the tournament promises to be as competitive as ever.
For British readers, this is the time of year when many of the players from Guards and Cowdray reappear on Argentine fields in front of their home crowds. It is always interesting to see how the summer in Europe has changed them. We will follow the Triple Crown, and report as each final is played.
Sources: La Nación
