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RAMON CASARES
In addition to Obregón’s eight goals, Zenni
added three and Torres two. Colombres
could manage only a couple – both on penalty
conversions – for Valiente I.
‘The World Cup presents an ideal format
for teams hungry to win,’ said Palm Beach
Illustrated publisher Terry Duffy.‘The variety
of opponent handicaps and rosters required
preparation and resilience on the field.
‘The Grand Champions team put together
a fantastic tournament. We hope to come
back in 2018 as defending champions.’
The $100,000 World Cup was the second
of two classic and prestigious tournaments
that Grand Champions owners and high-goal
polo players Melissa and Marc Ganzi have
revived, thanks to the generosity of Glenn
A C T I O N
Gringo Colombres), saw their three-goal
handicap lead quickly disappear at the end
of the opening chukka.
‘They were very solid,’ said Zedda.‘A true
four-man team.They are well-deserved
winners of the tournament.’
Palm Beach Illustrated were the only
team to make it to the World Cup semi-finals
and final with the same line-up.‘This is
awesome,’ said Zenni, who played in
Argentina with Obregón during the 2016
autumn season.‘We all came in with the
same mindset. We all wanted to win. We
understood that none of us are awesome
players, so we all had to work for each other,’
he said.‘It’s not easy to beat two Valiente
teams in the same tournament.’
Straub of Palm Beach Polo, where the
tournaments were last played back in the
late 1990s. The first of the tournaments to
be resurrected was the Sterling Cup.
‘I think we showed everyone a terrific
tournament,’ said Marc Ganzi. ‘For those of
you who were here two weeks ago, it was an
exciting draw – you never knew who you were
going to get. I think we demonstrated what’s
great about polo. Two brilliant teams that
battled it out and worked their way through
a bracket of 16 teams. Today, you saw
fantastic sportsmanship and wonderful
horsemanship. I really want to thank both
teams for putting out the effort. It was
a lot of fun to watch.’
Also in attendance were the Miami
Dolphins cheerleaders, and celebrities
including Vanilla Ice, actor Sterling Jones
and DJ Adam Lipson. There was a VIP tent
filled-to-capacity, with live music and
Audi’s newest fleet of cars was on display.
Wellington mayor Anne Gerwig threw
out the ceremonial first ball.
Opposite:
Winners, Palm
Beach Illustrated, with
publisher Terry Duffy.
This
page:
Bob Jornayvaz chases
Jared Zenni on the ball
‘ T WO B R I L L I A N T T E A M S B AT T L E D I T
O U T; F A N TA S T I C S P O R T S M A N S H I P
A N D H O R S E M A N S H I P ’ M A R C G A N Z I
