Victory in the Prince of Wales bodes well for season
As the looming clouds parted over ‘The Berkshire’, Spencer McCarthy’s Emlor and Ben Soleimani’s RH Polo paraded on Ground 1 on Saturday 20 May for this year’s Prince of Wales Trophy.
Emlor, in their distinctive red colours, had James McCarthy stepping in to replace his father Spencer after an injury last week. He was accompanied by a wealth of experience, but the pressure was on as they faced the boys in the black shirts in the form of Ben Soleimani’s RH Polo with his new 2017 line-up which includes World Number one, the mighty Adolfo Cambiaso.
In what turned out to be a close match it was young James that scored the first goal within the first three minutes. The close scoring continued with Emlor being two goals up at the end of the second chukka, however RH came out fighting in the third chukka. Following a brief pep talk and perhaps a change of tactics they were determined to turn this game around – and that is exactly what they did. Going into half-time the scoreboard had turned round with RH leading 7-5.
The RH lead was extended to a five goal advantage in the fourth chukka, but Emlor were not going down without a fight and Muzzio found the posts to reduce the deficit to a four goal margin. The sixth chukka saw Emlor regain their rhythm but unfortunately, despite a fantastic effort, it was too little too late for Emlor on this occasion. As the final hooter sounded, the scoreboard read 12-10 in favour of the team in black.
The prizes were presented by Club President Greta Morrison and HH Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur. RH Polo team patron, Ben Soleimani stepped forward to receive the Prince of Wales Trophy. The Polo Magazine Most Valuable Player Award was presented to Rodrigo de Andrade whilst the Polo Times Best Playing Pony Rug was given to Señal, owned and played by Guillermo Terrera.
Following the Prince of Wales Trophy Final, The Jaipur Challenge was played for the Herbert Spencer Trophy. This match saw Jaipur Polo Team, kindly supported by Black Hound, line-up to face Evgeny Chichvarkin’s Hedonism Wines. In what was a fun, friendly and fast game it was Hedonism Wines who ran out the winners 7-4.
Prince of Wales Teams:
Emlor: James McCarthy (1), Alejandro Muzzio (7), Guillermo Terrera (8) & Nacho Gonzalez (6)
RH Polo: Ben Soleimani (0), Tommy Beresford (4), Rodrigo Andrade (8) & Adolfo Cambiaso (10)
Photograph: World No 1 Adolfo Cambiaso offers commiseration to James McCarthy at the end of the Prince of Wales match. By ©www.imageofpolo.com