Saturday, August 30, 2025
In a match full of emotion and intensity played on field 3 of Los Pinos, Amanara beat Dos Lunas by 13 to 9 and won the Sotogrande High Goal Gold Cup. In addition, Hartog Polo Team beat Essso 8-5 to win the title in the Low Handicap. The Gold Cup is the third stop of the 54th International Polo Tournament. The competition is divided into three polo levels: High (20-22 goals), Medium (12-14 goals) and Low Handicap (6-8 goals).
The last day of the 54th International Polo Tournament has left us with a final to remember, reaffirming Sotogrande in the highest category of polo worldwide. Amanara and Dos Lunas starred in a decisive match that provided a spectacle and maintained a final atmosphere throughout the 6 chukkers.
At the beginning, it was Dos Lunas who achieved the first differences, especially from the driving of Antonio Heguy, who added a goal to his level of play, so that the advantage was 7 to 3 at the end of the second chukker. Amanara tried to settle into the game and the result as the minutes went by, and Bartolomé Castagnola’s performance was fundamental for these effects. While they cut the deficit to 2, a goal by Antonio Heguy on the last play of the third chukker brought the score to 8-5 at halftime.
But the second half was totally different from the first, with an Amanara team that provided its best polo of the season, with fundamental contributions from Beltrán Laulhé in the comeback, Barto Castagnola in driving, Lorenzo Chavanne in terms of goals, and Marti Romuladez, who at the end of the fifth chukker scored a goal that brought the difference to 12-8 in favor of Amanara. In the last chukker, and although Antonio Heguy managed to score quickly, Bartolomé Castagnola ended up sentencing the fight in favor of Amanara.
Thus, Amanara closes a season that includes a title in the Silver and Gold Cups, something that has not been achieved since 2022, when Dubai achieved the same feat. For Castagnola it was the second title, while for Chavanne and Laulhé it was the first High Handicap Gold Cup title. The Filipino Martín Romualdez, who replaced the injured Nicky Sen, was consecrated again, as in 2024.
For its part, court 4 of Los Pinos was the scene of the final of the Low Handicap, where Hartog Polo Team beat Essso and celebrated winning the title. The final 8-5 was a reflection of what was experienced throughout the 5 chukkers of the match, in which Kevin Korst was chosen as the best player of the final.
After the finals, it was the turn of the awards ceremony, which was attended by, in addition to the protagonists, Paola Zóbel, President of Ayala Polo Club; Oscar Ledesma, Accidental Mayor of San Roque; María Susana Sánchez, from Bionesta; Lorenzo Nencini, President of Incom S.p.A., Strategic Partner of U.S. Polo Assn.; María Cruz Conde, from Covetsol; Mica Maffei; María Susana Sánchez, from Bionesta; Manuel Cereceda, Sports Director of the Tournament; Emilia Barone, de Ammari Fragrances