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DEAUVILLE POLO CLUB
B A R R I È R E D E A U V I L L E P O L O C U P , D E A U V I L L E - L A T O U Q U E S R A C E C O U R S E , N O R M A N D Y , F R A N C E , A U G U S T 2 0 1 7
A C T I O N
D E A U V I L L E G O L D C U P
Cibao La Pampa took the Gold Cup in front of a record turn out, to complete
a superb season at Deauville International Polo Club, reports Gemma Latham
The 67th Barrière Deauville Polo Cup
took place at the Deauville-La Touques
racecourse in Normandy this August. The
Deauville Gold Cup is one of Europe’s most
prestigious tournaments, with both French
players and the best Argentine professionals
competing. A record audience of more than
2,000 spectators watched the final on 27
August. The fine weather certainly helped
to boost turn out, as did the chance to
see Francisco Elizalde (8) play, ahead of
competing in Argentina in November.
Elizalde will play the prestigious Argentine
Open tournament as part of an excellent
team with Santiago (8) and Ignacio Toccalino
(8), and the striker Alfredo Capella (9) –
a foursome that may go far. But in Deauville,
Elizalde demonstrated his mind was not
already drifting towards Argentina, but
was firmly in the here and now, focused on
leading his team Cibao La Pampa, of Jorge
(1) and Juan Pepa (2), Pato Cieza (5) and
Elizalde (8) to a second victory in Deauville,
after having won the Silver Cup on 13 August.
Cibao La Pampa played a fast and efficient
game – not showy, just a fine sports
spectacle centred around a team game
where each player knows his role perfectly.
Their opponents Barrière (Martin
Joaquin (4), Juan Chavanne (5), Martin
Aguerre Jr (7) and Tommy Rinderknecht
(0)) – who won the 2016 French Open in
Chantilly – fought to the end, reducing
the score in the final chukka, with captain
Martin Aguerre Jr scoring three goals
including two penalties. However, they could