Valiente came to the final of the Maserati U.S. Open with the first two legs of the 26-goal Triple Crown already in the bag. They left without the third. Julian Mannix’s Alegria beat them 11-10 in overtime at the International Polo Club Palm Beach on Sunday, with Hilario Ulloa’s 40-yard penalty settling a game that had seen the lead change hands again and again.
The teams
Alegria went in as underdogs: Mannix, Ulloa, Mariano Aguerre and Clemente Zavaleta. Valiente had won the C.V. Whitney Cup and the USPA Gold Cup this season, but Adolfo Cambiaso had left the field in the semi-finals with a hamstring injury. Juan MartÃn Nero took his place alongside Bob Jornayvaz, Santi Torres and Sapo Caset.
How it unfolded
Alegria scored 35 seconds into the match, but Torres drove Valiente to a 3-1 lead by the end of the first chukka. It was 3-3 after two, and Valiente led 4-3 at half-time after a Caset penalty. Then came the fourth chukka and a burst from Ulloa, who converted three straight 30-yard penalties to put Alegria 7-5 up. Caset pulled one back with a 60-yard penalty in the fifth, Mannix restored the two-goal gap, and Caset scored again with 44 seconds left to make it 8-7 to Alegria.
The sixth chukka was a seesaw. Torres tied it at 8-8, Caset put Valiente 9-8 up, Aguerre equalised at 9-9, and Caset sent over another 60-yard penalty for 10-9. Zavaleta then scored late to force overtime at 10-10. Caset finished with six goals, five of them penalties.
Sudden death
In overtime Ulloa’s 60-yard penalty attempt went wide. About three minutes later Valiente conceded a foul in their own end, and this time Ulloa made no mistake from 40 yards. Zavaleta was named most valuable player, and the best playing pony award went to Ulloa’s mount Mia.
The result repeats the shape of last year’s final, in which Valiente also finished second, to Zacara. With that the Palm Beach high-goal season is over, and Alegria finish it as the team that beat the favourites when it counted.
Sources: Polo Times: Alegria wins US Open, Horse Times: Alegria halts Valiente’s Triple Crown bid, Wellington Town-Crier: IPC polo season ends with exciting Maserati U.S. Open
