The ‘Nico Show’ Catapults RH Polo to 11-9 Win
By Darlene Ricker
RH Polo took an 11-9 victory over La Bamba de Areco on Day 12 of the 2016 Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup for the British Open.
RH ruled the field handily for the majority of the match, taking a 3-2 lead at the top of the second chukka and stretching it to a six-goal advantage in the fifth. Nico Pieres led the charge all the way through, making seven goals total and popping up everywhere La Bamba didn’t want him to be. Pieres made a slew of long runs toward goal on turbocharged horses, flying past La Bamba de Areco as though they were standing still. La Bamba appeared to be having horse issues throughout the match. Even with frequent horse changes, they just weren’t able to keep pace with RH’s mounts, which were tuned and ready.
In the final chukka, however, La Bamba de Areco showed serious signs of life. The only player to score in the sixth was Diego Cavanagh, with three unanswered goals for La Bamba. In his typical swashbuckling fashion, Cavanagh tightened the gap to two goals (11-9), an amazing feat given the beating La Bamba de Areco had been taking.
“We were lucky that they ran out of time,” said RH patron Ben Soleimani. “When you’re up by three to five goals in the last chukka, you relax a bit—and it can come back to bite you real fast. I’ve had it happen.”
La Bamba de Areco
Jean Francois Decaux 0
Diego Cavanagh 8
Cristian Laprida 8
Rodrigo Rueda 6
RH Polo
Ben Soleimani 0
Alastair Paterson 4
Nico Pieres 9
Rodrigo Andrade 9