Unbeatable Zedan and first victory for Abu Dhabi
In a day full of action, goals and the unfortunate injury of ten goaler Pablo Mac Donough, Zedan and Abu Dhabi achieved wins in today ́s matches for the Julius Baer Gold Cup at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club.
Mac Donough suffered a hard fall in the fourth chukker of the match against Edrees and had to drop out the field with an injured ankle. Replaced by Lucas Monteverde, Zedan achieved a bitter victory by a comfortable 8 goals to 2.
Mac Donough was the top scorer of the match with 4 goals.
Match progression:
Zedan: 2-1/ 5-1/ 5-1/ 7-1/ 8-2
In the second match of the day, Abu Dhabi Polo Team achieved his first victory in the Julius Baer Gold Cup after defeating Bin Drai by 11 goals to 7 in a thrilling match.
Team made by Ali Al Merri, Valentín Novillo, Facundo Fernández Llorente and top player Alfredo Capella had to fight till the very end to defeat the strong Bin Drai team.
With an outstanding half time, Abu Dhabi achieved a comfortable difference in the score of 7-3 but Bin Drai ́s reaction in the fourth chukker, closing the gap to only one goal (7-6), put some suspense to the final 7 minutes of the game.
The talented Alfredo Capella show up in the last chukka to score four consecutive goals for Abu Dhabi ́s victory by 11 goals to 7.
Capella was the mvp and top scorer of the match with 8 goals.
Match progression:
Abu Dhabi: 4-1/ 5-2/ 7-3/ 7-6/ 11-7
The Julius Baer Gold Cup will continue tomorrow with another double action day at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club.
Starting at 2 pm Julius Baer by Habtoor Polo will play against UAE Polo followed by Mahra against 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.