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J A E G E R - L E C O U L T R E G O L D C U P , C O W D R A Y P A R K P O L O C L U B , W E S T S U S S E X , U K , J U N E 2 0 1 7
A C T I O N
TONY RAMIREZ/IMAGESOFPOLO.COM
G O L D C U P
King Power Foxes swept through the tournament at Cowdray
Park Polo Club to beat El Remanso, in an event that saw its
fair share of sibling rivalry, writes Carolina Beresford
Excitement and anticipation filled the air at
the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup on 27 June
at Cowdray Park Polo Club. Several surprises
during the Queen’s Cup indicated the Gold
might not be a monotonous repeat of past
years and so inspired spectators braved the
rainy weather in search of a new champion.
Yes, Adolfo Cambiaso claimed the Queen’s
Cup yet again, but favourites King Power
Foxes had fallen in the quarters. There was
space for a new warrior to come through, and
people were eager to see how La Indiana
and El Remanso would perform.
Gasps echoed as Michael Bickford’s La
Indiana melted under Sommelier’s heat in
the quarter-finals. Further drama struck,
to the delight of many, as RH Polo stumbled.
Without Cambiaso, their 10-goal leader, Ben
Soleimani’s team couldn’t handle the force
of Habtoor’s Francisco Elizalde and Nico
Pieres. Two favourites were out before the
semis. Things were getting good.
Sibling rivalry was a feature of the
semi-finals, as Facundo and Gonzalito
Pieres of King Power Foxes took on younger
brother Nico of Habtoor. The Foxes won and
secured a place in the Gold Cup final. El
Remanso were still flying high in their
semi-final, and soared into the final after
a fantastic Hanbury brothers duel, where
Charlie defeated George of Sommelier. With
a place in the final, they were on course to
face El Remanso for a third time this season,
a team who had shown they could win. After
defeating the Pieres brothers in the Queen’s
Cup quarters and in a Gold Cup league game,
Above:
Charlie Hanbury, right, hooks
Gonzalito Pieres.
Opposite top:
Airborne
Facundo Pieres
. Opposite below:
Winners,
King Power Foxes from left, Facundo
and Gonzalito Pieres, Hugo Taylor and
MVP, Jimbo Fewster
they could not be underestimated.
King Power Foxes had so far failed to
be the inspirational team we swooned over
in 2015. In the words of Gonzalo Pieres
Snr, ‘This has been the worst season since
Facundo and Gonzalito started playing
together’. But as great champions know,
finals are a peculiar breed of polo
circumstance, and not all players are
born to win big trophies.
