Julius Baer and Edrees triumphant in a great polo day
Two thrilling matches were held this afternoon at the Al Habtoor Polo Resort for the seven day of action at the Julius Baer Gold Cup.
Julius Baer by Habtoor Polo defeated Ghantoot by 11 goals to 10 and Edrees also defeated Wolves by a 10-7 score.
In the first match of the day Julius Baer Team and Ghantoot Polo held an exciting game with a great polo level and plenty of goals.
After Julius Baer having a comfortable lead of the match up to the fourth chukker, Ghantoot made a comeback to take the lead by 10-9 with only seven minutes to go.
It was in the last chukker, with the score tied in 10 goals apiece, that Manuel Elizalde took the ball from midfield to run through the goalposts and score the winning goal for Julius Baer in the last seconds of the match.
Match progression:
Julius Baer: 3-2/ 6-4/ 8-6/ 9-10/ 11-10
In the second match of the day, Edrees and Wolves played another great game with patron Sultan Edrees team achieving the first victory in the tournament.
Edrees defeated Wolves by 10 goals to 7 with Juan “Tito” Ruíz Guiñazú as the mvp and top scorer with six goals.
Match progression:
Edrees: 2-1/ 4-3/ 6-3/ 8-4/ 10-7
The Julius Baer Gold Cup will continue next friday at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club with a double action day.
Starting at 2 pm Zedan Polo will play against Ghantoot Polo followed by Bin Drai Polo against Wolves Polo Team.
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.