Eighteen teams for the Gold Cup
Cowdray Park Polo Club announces that eighteen teams have entered the 2011 Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup for the British Open Polo Championship. The Draw to decide match play in the opening rounds took place on the evening of 7th June, with a representative from every team drawing a name to decide which of three leagues each team is allocated. With five brand new teams taking part, there is palpable excitement at the prospect of such an open tournament ahead.
Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup winners in 2010, Dubai, defend the title of British Open Champions with an impressive Gold Cup history, having also won in 2001 and 2005 and been finalists in 2004 and 2009. Once again the linchpin of the team is the world’s finest player Adolfo Cambiaso. 2009 winners, La Bamba de Areco, with Patron Jean-Fancois Decaux, again includes the extraordinary talent of the Pieres brothers Gonzalito and Facundo, both 10 goal players, with a new young player in the side, English 2 goaler Matt Perry.
2008 winners Loro Piana return with a new line-up to Alfio Marchini’s team of Lucas James, Nicolas Espain and Agustin Nero. Also high up in the list of contenders is Jerome Wirth’s Enigma team, which is based on the Cowdray Estate, and this year includes one of the world’s best players, Juan Martin Nero, at no: 3 and Matias MacDonough at Back. Adrian Kirby’s 1870 team remains unchanged from 2010 with Australians Rob Archibald and Ruki Baillieu and New Zealander John Paul Clarkin.
Other contenders from 2010 making a renewed bid to win the most coveted trophy in polo, include Stefano Marsaglia, with his Piaget side, Jo Gottschalk with Les Lions, and Talandracas with French patron Edouard Carmignac who has drafted in the talented young goal scorer Facundo Sola for the first time. Nick Clark is back again with Salkeld, this season including Luke Tomlinson at Back. El Remanso remains unchanged with English brothers Charlie and George Hanbury playing alongside Jaime Huidobro and David ‘Pelon’ Stirling. Roger Carlsson returns with his team Billingbear Park, Lyndon Lea makes another bid with his Zacara side, as does Oussama Aboughazale with his Sumaya team again featuring the legendary Carlos Gracida at back.
In terms of brand new entries, Prince Bahar Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei introduces a new team, sponsored by watch makers Richard Mille, with Pablo Macdonough, 10 goals, as the centrepiece of the team and talented young Englishman Max Routledge at Back. Two Australian patrons, Gill McLachlan and Stirling McGregor bring in a new side called Stella Artois to take their first crack at the trophy. Also from far-away comes Harald Link of Thai Polo with team members Lucas Di Paola, Pite Merlos and Marcos Di Paola while Colombian patron Camilo Bautista brings Nachi Heguy, Eduardo Novillo-Astrada and Francisco Elizalde into his Las Monjitas side. Cowdray patron Paul Oberschneider moves up to make his first entry into the Gold Cup with his La Golondrina side featuring England international player Satnam Dhillon, and Argentines Diego Cavanagh and Tomas Garcia del Rio.
The Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup tournament opens on 21st June leading to Quarter Finals on 9-10th July, Semi Finals on 14th July and the Final on Sunday 17th July.