The highly anticipated Argentine Triple Crown is officially underway to the delight of polo fans across the globe. Featuring a reformatted schedule, this year’s competition begins with the 130th Hurlingham Open, followed by the 83rdTortugas Open (October 10-28) and capped off with the coveted 130th edition of the Argentine Polo Open Championship (October 31 – December 2).
Assembling at the AAP Headquarters in Pilar, the first day of competition in the 130th Hurlingham Open for the Ayshire Cup kicked-off between reigning Argentine Open champions La Dolfina Saudi (Adolfo Cambiaso, David “Pelon” Stirling, Poroto Cambiaso, Juan Martin Nero) and Clinova La Irenita (Facundo F. Llorente, Tomas F. Llorente, Benjamin Urquiza, Isidro Strada).
Featuring a formidable 40-goal handicap, La Dolfina Saudi made an early impact on the competition assembling a dominant performance. In an explosive first half that saw each teammate reach the scoreboard, La Dolfina Saudi were guided by the efforts of Stirling hitting a perfect 5 for 5 from the field, as Poroto Cambiaso added five goals of his own, including two from the penalty line. Shooting with 73% accuracy from the field, La Dolfina Saudi held Clinova La Irenita to just three penalty conversions from Strada to take a commanding 16-3 advantage.
Maintaining their competitive edge La Dolfina Saudi kept the pressure dialed-in, accounting for a six-goal unanswered run from the powerful Cambiaso duo. Finally ending the onslaught of offense, La Irenita Clinova’s Tomas F. Llorente made back-to-back field goals in the final chukka, but La Dolfina Saudi’s ability to control the pace of play and dominate possession led to the impressive 22-5 triumph.
Concluding Tuesday’s quarterfinal action, Ellerstina Yellow Rose (Nicolas Pieres, Gonzalo Pieres, Rodrigo R. de Andrade, Ignatius du Plessis) went head-to-head against Cría La Dolfina (Guillermo Terrera, Tomas Panelo, Diego Cavanagh, Alejo Taranco).
Despite outshooting their opponents from the field in the first half, Cría La Dolfina converted just four goals on twelve attempts, while foul troubles sent Ellerstina Yellow Rose to the penalty line. Striking with 100% accuracy, a combination of Gonzalo Pieres, Nicolas Pieres and du Plessis united for five conversions, as a 54.5% field shooting percentage gave Ellerstina Yellow Rose the 11-6 lead after four chukkas.
Leveling out their penalty attempts in the second half, each team went 2 for 2 at the line, with Cría La Dolfina caught the narrow edge in open play. Scoring four goals on eight shots, a combined effort from Cavanagh and Terra momentarily pulled Cría La Dolfina within striking distance, but it was ultimately too late, as Ellerstina Yellow Roses’ early lead and spectacular nine-goal performance from Gonzalo Pieres sealed the 16-12 victory.
Upcoming Schedule
Wednesday, September 27
La Natividad vs La Hache Cria & Polo
La Hache vs La Ensenada
Photo Credit: ©Matías Callejo/Prensa AAP