Land Rover, first big winner of the 2018 season
A final that looked exactly like the entire tournament: a real fight, exciting and indecisive until the end, and a victory by the smallest gap (8-7) of Land Rover: a team from Chantilly, playing around Alexandre Sztarkman and his son Sam, 16 years old only, who were particularly brilliant throughout the Bourbon Trophy.
Sam Sztarkman is certainly one of the greatest hopes of tomorrow’s French polo. In this final, as throughout the tournament, he showed a maturity and ease worthy of the young Argentines players. He was named Most valuable player of the match. A match that took a while to start against the defending champion, the western Parisian team, Sainte-Mesme, the French 5 handicap Robert Strom associated with his brother-in-law, the Argentine Clemente Zavaleta, handicap 7, who plays every year the mythical Open of Argentina.
We had to wait for the end of the second chukker to see the first goal scored by Land Rover: the prerogative of these often tight finals. And it was until the end, but finally, it is the calm organization of Pierre- Henri N’Goumou (French handicap 6), supported by the solidity of the Argentine Jota Chavane (handicap 5), which had the last say.
This is a mare that the French key member of the Land Rover team bought last year in Argentina, at Sergio Magrini, Milonga, aged 7, who was elected best horse of this beautiful final match.
Beginning this week, the Nobility for Ability Charity Cup matches will start to be played, a tournament of the same level with the entry of a new team: In The Wings, led by the ex-handicap 9 Argentine, the spectacular Pancho Bensadon.
Six teams, some will also have “scores to settle” because all the matches of the Bourbon Trophy practically ended with a single goal gap. Therefore, six strong candidates for a victory which will be played on Sunday, June 24th, under the sign of India, in the presence of the Maharaja of Jaipur, Padmanabh Singh.
A wonderful day to check already in the diaries.