Strong starts for La Dolfina, Ellerstina, La Aguada Las Monjitas and Alegría
Play in the 124th Hurlingham Open is well and truly underway at the AAP grounds in Pilar, Argentina. The second day of matches, on Tuesday 10 October, saw eight teams take to the field, fighting for the coveted trophy and also saw the Hurlingham Open debut of both defending champions Ellerstina and their closest rivals, and Tortugas Open winners, La Dolfina Sancor Insurance.
Defending champs Ellerstina were the first to take to the field, against La Dolfina Polo Ranch, winning the match by a whopping 19-7. The nine goal handicap difference between the teams was evident from the first chukka even with a strong fight back in the seventh chukka from the La Dolfina Polo Ranch team.
Tortugas Open winners La Dolfina Sancor Insurance were next on the field, against La Albertina Abu Dhabi. The Tortugas Open winners dominated from the very first chukka, but the 32 goal La Albertina were never too far behind. La Dolfina won the match 10-6, a closer score than expected this early on in the tournament.
Alegría secured their position in the next round with a resounding 18-5 win over La Irenita, 13 of which goals came off the stick of 9 goal Sapo Caset. The last match of the day saw La Aguada Las Monjitas take on Cría Yatay in a close match. The final score of 11-10 to La Aguada Las Monjitas reflected the narrow nature of the match, two chukkas of which ended in draws.
The Hurlingham Open tournament will resume on Saturday 14 October and are scheduled as follows:
11am: La Aguada Las Monjitas vs La Dolfina Polo Ranch
11am: Alegría vs La Albertina Abu Dhabi
2pm: Ellerstina vs La Esquina Los Machitos
4pm: La Dolfina Sancor Insurance vs Chapaleufú
The Hurlingham Club Open Championship Teams:
La Albertina Abu Dhabi (32): Francisco Elizalde (8), Ignacio Toccalino (8), Santiago Toccalino (8) & Alfredo Cappella Barabucci (8)
La Irenita (31): Juan Ruiz Guiñazú (8), Juan M. Zavaleta (8), Clemente Zavaleta (7) & Matías MacDonough (8)
Cria Yatay (31): Valerio Zubiaurre (7), Cristian Laprida (8), Joaquín Pittaluga (8) & Ignacio Laprida (8)
LD La Dolfina Polo Ranch (30): Diego Cavanagh (7), Guillermo Terrera (8), Alejo Taranco (7) & Ignatius Du Plessis (8)
La Aguada Las Monjitas (31): Alejandro Novillo Astrada (8), Juan Britos (7 – substituting for Alfredo Bigatti), Miguel Novillo Astrada (8) & Ignacio Novillo Astrada (8)
La Esquina LM Navarro Belts (29): Pascual Sainz de Vicuña (6), Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade (8), Mariano Aguerre (8) & Rodrigo Rueda (7)
Joy Land Rover (35): Guillermo Caset (9) Hilario Ulloa (10), Facundo Sola (8) & Frederick Mannix (8)
Chapaleufú (30): Alberto Heguy (7), Ezequiel Martínez Ferrario (8), Julián ‘Negro’ de Lusarreta (7) & Eduardo Heguy (8)
La Dolfina Sancor Insurance (40): Adolfo Cambiaso (10), David ‘Pelon’ Stirling (10), Pablo Mac Donough (10) & Juan Martín Nero (10)
Ellerstina Johor (39): Pablo Pieres (9), Gonzalito Pieres (10), Facundo Pieres (10) and Nicolás Pieres (10)
Photograph: Pablo Mac Donough rides to goal for La Dolfina against La Albertina Abu Dhabi. By Matías Callejo