John Taylor – Montecarlo Polo Team wins the Cortina Winter Polo 2013
John Taylor – Montecarlo Polo Team won the 24th edition of the Cortina Winter Polo – Audi Gold Cup on Snow, held from February 17 to 23 in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The tournament (14/16 handicap on snow) was hosted for the first time in Fiames (4 km north of Cortina), at the foot of the majestic Mount Pomagagnon. This year the traditional venue of the tournament, Misurina Lake, was not able to host the event due to low thickness of the ice.
The event has been deemed a massive success: five teams entered the tournament, featuring a host of international players coming from Argentina, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Italy and UK.
In the final John Taylor – Montecarlo defeated Audi Polo Team 10 – 6½. Rommy Gianni (hp 2), Luca D’Orazio (hp 2) and argentine Dario Musso (hp 7), the backbone of the winning team – this year along with argentine Juan Cruz Greguoli (hp 5) – are the most winners player of this traditional tournament on snow (six wins each since 2002 edition). Dario Musso was the “Goleador” of the tournament with 20 goals.
The finale match for third place was won by the team U.S. Polo Assn. that swept 8-4 the Hotel de la Poste. Special prizes were awarded to the best horse Turron (bay, 9 year old, owned by Fabio Acampora) and the best Italian player Fabrizio Bulgarini (hp 3 – Team Audi).
The Fair Play Award “Renato Manaigo†was awarded to the irish captain of the U.S. Polo Assn. Richard Fagan (hp 2), while the 14 year old Teodoro Neuforge (hp. 2 – Ruinart Polo Team) was awarded as the youngest player in the tournament. The ground, as usual for Cortina Winter Polo, was very well prepared, making it a superb playing surface and for polo to be an exceptionally high standard.
The organizers, Maurizio Zuliani and Claudio Giorgiutti, were extremely happy with how the tournament unfolded, for the quality of the teams and polo. In fact all that could be heard after matches was sheer congratulations from the players and patrons.
With all this in mind, it is understandable that the final was played in front of a massive crowd all enjoying the atmosphere and picturesque surroundings. Curtain fell on the first act of the Audi Polo Gold Cup Circuit 2013, that in June (25-29) will move to the capital, in the historic field of the Roma Polo Club, for the second stage the Rome Summer Polo.