Bin Drai and Zedan winners in the opening matches of the Julius Baer Gold Cup
Bin Drai and Zedan achieved two great victories in the opening day of the Julius Baer Gold Cup at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club.
Bin Drai defeated Julius Baer Team by Habtoor Polo by 9 goals to 3 and Zedan did the same with Abu Dhabi Polo Team by 11 goals to 10.
In the first match of the day, Bin Drai, with an excellent teamwork and Guillermo Terrera playing at a great level defeated Julius Baer Team to begin the Gold Cup in the best way.
Terrera scored four goals and was the top scorer and mvp of the match.
Match progression:
Bin Drai: 2-1/ 2-2/ 4-2/ 5-3/ 9-3
In the second match of the day, Zedan defeated Abu Dhabi Polo Team by 11 goals to 10 in a thrilling match decided in the last seconds with an amazing goal by Pablo Mac Donough.
Argentinean 10 goaler, triple crown winner with La Dolfina, made an exhibition of high polo level in the last two chukkers for a great comeback of Zedan to win the game.
Patron Amr Zedan team was 5 goals down with 14 minutes left till Mac Donough put his engines at full speed to score 6 goals in the last two chukkers for a total of 10 that made him the mvp and top scorer of the match.
Match progression:
Zedan: 2-1/ 4-6/ 4-9/ 7-9/ 11-10
The Julius Baer Gold Cup will continue tomorrow with another double action day at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club.
From 2 pm, Mahra will be facing Wolves Polo Team followed by UAE Polo vs Ghantoot.
Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series (Dubai Open), an 18 Goal Handicap competition, enters its seventh year under the Patronage of HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai. The tournament is now the highest handicap in the UAE.
The Dubai Open has been split into two tournaments. Starting with the McLaren Cup 2016, which runs from Friday January 22, 2016 to Friday February 5, 2016. The second tournament, the Julius Baer Gold Cup, commences on Friday, February 19, 2016 to Friday March 11, 2016.
The Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series is the fourth-largest tournament of its kind after Argentina, the US and the UK. First founded by Mohammed Al Habtoor in 2009, the tournament is the premier regional polo competition of the year, and attracts VIPs, society figures, and senior corporate executives from across the GCC. It has grown in tandem with the city of Dubai and since 2012, it is the only tournament in the UAE to be recognized and certified by the World Polo Tour (WPT).
It is played under the banner of the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA), with the Gold Cup being played according to HPA rules and the provision of umpires is managed under strict international supervision by the HPA.