King Power and El Remanso seal their spots
King Power and El Remanso have confirmed their places in The Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup Final at 3pm on Sunday 23 July at Cowdray Park Polo Club.
The 2016 winners, King Power were the first to take to the field for their Semi Final against Gold Cup first timers Habtoor. In a rainy affair, King Power dominated The 2017 Dubai Gold Cup winning side, despite a brief run in the lead for Habtoor at the end of the first half. In a game of end-to-end polo, the Pieres brothers worked together with their teammates Hugo Taylor and Jimbo Fewster to score an impressive 10 goals to Habtoor’s six, securing their spot in Sunday’s Final.
In the 4pm match, it was a Hanbury vs Hanbury affair as all-Brit side El Remanso took to the field against Sommelier. The rain continued to fall on Lawns 1 as the intense match got under way. Both teams contended hard for the ball, with El Remanso taking control from the word go. Juan Gris Zavaleta took a tumble in the fourth chukka, but luckily remounted ready for the fifth with 10-2 on the scoreboard in El Remanso’s favour. After over an hour of match-time, El Remanso came away with the second, and last, spot in Sunday’s Jaeger-LeCoultre Final, winning 12-5 with all to play for.
Tickets for Sunday’s Final are still available and can be purchased here. A full report from The Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup will be in the August issue of Polo Times. To ensure you don’t miss out, make sure to subscribe by clicking here.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup Semi Final Teams:
El Remanso (21): Charlie Hanbury (4), Ollie Cudmore (5), James Beim (6) & James Harper (6)
King Power (22): ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha (1) – substituted by Hugo Taylor for Wednesday 19 July (1), James Fewster (1), Gonzalo Pieres (10) & Facundo Pieres (10)
Sommelier (22): George Hanbury (3), Juan Gris Zavaleta (7), Fred Mannix Jnr (8) & Alec White (4)
Habtoor (21): Mohammed Al Habtoor (0), Francisco Elizalde (7), Nico Pieres (8) & Paco O’Dwyer (6)
Photograph: King Power secures their place in The Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup Final. By ©imagesofpolo.com