Winter-2017 - page 48

48
hurlinghampolo.com
C A R T I E R Q U E E N ’ S C U P , G U A R D S P O L O C L U B , S U R R E Y , U K , J U N E 2 0 1 7
A C T I O N
TONY RAMIREZ/IMAGESOFPOLO.COM
Q U E E N ’ S C U P
La Indiana and RH Polo met for an exciting and unpredictable final, with
Adolfo Cambiaso joining the ranks of Ben Soleimani’s team,
writes Carolina Beresford
The Cartier Queen’s Cup at Guards was
a thrilling affair this year. King Power Foxes,
one of the stronger teams of the competition
– boasting 10-goal superstars Gonzalito and
Facundo Pieres – were knocked out by El
Remanso in the quarter-finals. A strong
British foursome, El Remanso proved they
were ready for high-goal glory, but lost in the
semi-final against RH Polo.
After a disappointing season last year,
RH Polo patron Ben Soleimani recruited La
Dolfina legend Adolfo Cambiaso, who parted
with Dubai after 16 successful years. Flanked
by 8-goal Brazilian Rodrigo Ribeiro de
Andrade and 4-goaler Tomas Beresford, RH
Polo reached the final undefeated.
They would face last season’s
sweethearts, La Indiana, in the final. Michael
Bickford’s teamwould once again battle
Cambiaso in the Queen’s Cup final, this time
with Luke Tomlinson accompanying Tincho
Merlos and Nic Roldan.The final was set to be
a spectacular show. Celebrities flocked to
the Cartier enclosure, while die-hard polo
fans braved the heat in the stands. Both
teams played a solid first chukka, but RH
Polo pulled ahead of La Indiana in the second.
A few quick runs and a penalty conversion
gave RH Polo a 6-3 advantage by half time.
The clash of the titans was proving more
predictable than anticipated.
But if politics has taught us anything,
it’s to expect the unexpected. With Merlos
leading the attack, La Indiana came back
and scored five goals in four minutes to go
8-7 up. The crowd could not believe their
1...,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47 49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,...68
Powered by FlippingBook