The summer in Sotogrande ended with a close and absorbing final. At the Santa María Polo Club, at the end of August, MB Polo beat Brunei 9-8 to win the high goal Gold Cup of the 48th Torneo Internacional de Polo, the first time the team and its four players had won the trophy.
The finalists
MB Polo lined up with Prince Mateen, Tomás Panelo, Polito Pieres and Tommy Beresford. Brunei, who had lost just one game in the high goal all season, fielded Camilo Castagnola, Santiago Stirling, Juan Martín Nero and Prince Bahar. The two teams were closely matched, with a team handicap of 19 goals each.
The match was tight throughout. The score progression ran 1-1, 2-2, 4-4, 6-6, 7-6 and then 9-8, with MB Polo never more than a goal ahead for long and Brunei always within reach. In the end MB Polo held on.
- Most Valuable Player: Tomás Panelo.
- Best Playing Pony: Kenya, ridden by Tommy Beresford.
- Final score: MB Polo 9, Brunei 8.
Why Sotogrande counts
The Sotogrande tournament, played every summer in southern Spain, is one of the four great events of the high-goal calendar. Its evening matches, which run late into the night, give it a special atmosphere that is hard to match elsewhere. Players from every continent come, and the three trophies, Gold, Silver and Bronze, divide the entries by handicap so that teams of different strengths all have something to play for.
For the winners it was a significant moment. MB Polo, the organisation behind Prince Mateen’s team, had never before lifted the high goal Gold Cup, and it was a moment to savour.
The Spanish summer is over and the focus now shifts to Argentina, where the Triple Crown begins in the coming weeks. We will be watching.
Sources: Pololine
