43rd Land Rover International Polo Tournament – Days 21 & 22 – Silver Cup
Location: Santa MarÃa Polo Club Sotogrande
Country: Spain
By Victoria Elsbury-Legg
It was a Friday of High Goal Finals in Sotogrande with Top Srivaddhannaprabha’s King Power up first in the Sub-Final against Camilo Bautista’s Las Monjitas. This was followed by the Silver Cup High Goal Final with Bob Jornayvaz’s Valiente, so far undefeated in this year’s Spanish season (having won the Bronze Cup and seen off the might of the Pieres brothers in the Semi-Finals) now playing Dos Lunas Baco Espirito Santo, who they beat in their earlier Sotogrande meeting on Friday 8th in a Silver Cup league match 10-9.
At half time in the Subsidiary Finals the teams were tied at 2 goals each with both equally as keen to be lifting up the silverware at the end of the game. By the start of the final chukka Top Srivaddhannaprabha, Alejandro Muzzio, Marcos Di Paola and Martin Espain (King Power) were three goals ahead of Las Monjitas (Camilo Bautista, Tomas Fernandez-Llorente, Eduardo Novillo Astrada and Alejandro Novillo Astrada) at 8-5. Despite almost scoring enough goals to catch up, it was not to be Las Monjita’s game as the winners of the Silver Cup Subsidiary Final with a scoreboard reading of 10-9 were King Power.
Riding into another Final later in the day were Valiente, with their sights set on adding a cup of another metallic shade to the bronze one they lifted at the previous Spanish Final. Leading 3-2 by the at the end of the first, by the start of the second, goals from Cambiaso had put a 5 on their side of the board, whilst Pascual Sainz de Vicuna and Luis Domecq made it 4 for Dos Lunas Banco Espirito Santo. As in the earlier game, at half time the teams were tied, this time at 6 all. Reaching the end of the fifth with goals from Agustin Garcia Grossi , Santiago Torres and Adolfo Cambiaso the scoreboard was reading Valiente 10 – 7 Dos Lunas Banco Espirito Santo.
It was to be a close last chukka, with Valiente only a goal ahead at 11-10 Dos Lunas Banco Espirito Santo, then a penalty taken by Cambiaso raised Valiente to 12-10 and a final goal from Cambiaso, determined not to change his unblemished 2014 Spanish record, putting a lucky 13thand final goal on the board for Valiente to Dos Lunas Banco Espirito Santo’s 10, with Cambiaso’s pony Gatita being awarded BPP.
High goal continues in Sotogrande on Sunday 17th August in the first match of the Gold Cup when at 17:00 Lechuza Caracas v HB Polo, LPI and 18:30 Ellerston v La Indiana on LPIII.
In today’s games, at 11am Shakib Polo played Bayswater in the Silver Cup Low Goal Subsidiary Final, and it was a determined Shakib Polo team on the pitch, who once again wanted to beat Bayswater (having beaten them 9-7 in their league match on Friday 8th). They did indeed achieve their wish, winning with a final score of Shakib Polo 5 v 4 Bayswater.
In the 12:15 final on PH1, Serdanola met Huntsman, who had been highly successful in all their games to date in Sotogrande. Once again, following in the footsteps of Valiente in the High Goal, Huntsman (Arisitide Faggionato, Dillon Bacon, Felipe Gomez and Ivan Maldonado) hunted down not only the goals, but also the Low Goal Silver Cup to join the Bronze one already on their mantelpiece, as they beat Serdonola by three goals, 12-9.
Sunday 17th August 2014
Gold Cup High Goal
17:00