Mahra and UAE Polo finalists of the Julius Baer Gold Cup
Mahra and UAE Polo will play the final of Julius Baer Gold Cup 2016 after achieving two great victories in today ́s semifinals matches against Bin Drai and Zedan. Mahra defeated Bin Drai by 8 goals to 6 and UAE Polo defeated Zedan in OT by 12 goals to 11.
Mahra and UAE Polo will play the great final of the Julius Baer Gold Cup next friday at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club.
Julius Baer Team by Habtoor Polo won today the second semifinal of the Bentley Cup against Edrees by 9 goals to 8 and will play the final of this trophy next friday against Abu Dhabi.
In a busy polo day at the Al Habtoor Polo Resort, with three matches in a row, the first team to celebrate was Julius Baer by Habtoor Polo after defeating Edrees by a narrow 9-8 in a tough match.
Patron Mohammed Al Habtoor ́s team controlled the game from the beginning but Edrees put some pressure on them in the last 14 minutes. Finally, Julius Baer achieved the victory that puts them in the Bentley Cup final.
Match progression:
Julius Baer: 3-0/ 3-2/ 6-3/ 7-6/ 9-8
The Julius Baer Gold Cup semifinals started with Mahra and Bin Drai playing a great polo match in field 3 of the Al Habtoor Polo Resort.
With Alejandro Novillo Astrada playing at a superb level, Mahra defeated one of the strongest teams in the season to qualify for the great final.
Despite the great performance by Novillo Astrada, Mahra ́s teamwork was the clue in the significant victory.
Match progression:
Mahra: 3-0/ 4-3/ 5-4/ 6-5/ 8-6
The last semifinal of the day was held by UAE Polo and Zedan with the victory of HH Sheika Maitha ́s team by 12 goals to 11 in extra chukka with a penalty goal by Lucas Monteverde.
After a thrilling start by UAE Polo, that achieved in the first 14 minutes a 6 goal gap (7-1), Zedan, that today played with two new players (Juan Ruíz Guiñazú and Matías Zavaleta replacing Pablo Mac Donough and Pelayo Berazadi) made a great comeback in the fifth chukker to tie the match in 11 goals apiece and take the definition to OT.
In the extra chukker, after some minutes of suspense, UAE Polo had a penalty from the spot scored by Lucas Monteverde for the UAE 12-11 victory and the ticket to the Julius Baer Gold Cup Final.
The great day of the Julius Baer Gold Cup will be held next friday at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club with the Bentley Cup final and the Julius Baer Gold Cup final.
Gates at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club will open from 11 am. The Bentley Cup final between Julius Baer and Abu Dhabi will be held at 1.30 pm followed by the Julius Baer Gold Cup final from 4 pm with Mahra facing UAE Polo.
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.