The 131st. Argentine Polo Open Championship is perhaps one of the best of the latest years. Of course there are games that are predictable, but at the same time, there can be many nice surprises and even unexpected results. It’s been happening, and it’s happened on Friday November 15 and Saturday November 16, two days that saw La Hache Cría & Polo, La Zeta Kazak and Indios Chapaleufu victorious over La Aguada, Cría La Dolfina and La Hache, respectively. And not easy games at all, indeed, as they all were played under very hot weather conditions.
Everybody expected a close contest between La Hache Cría & Polo and La Aguada, on Friday November 15, given the leveled handicaps of both lineups (La Hache Cria & Polo 31, La Aguada 29). And indeed the game had a close start, with La Aguada leading 3-2. But things would change quickly, because La Hache Cría & Polo took off from the second chukka onwards, led by their flagship man, Joaquín Pittaluga. They earned significant differences, leaving La Aguada scoreless during three chukkas. By half time, La Hache Cría & Polo were leading by an overwhelming 13-3 score. La Aguada, who seemed lost, finally got rid of the “three” in the fifth chukka, mostly thanks to Pedrinho Zacharias and Facundo Llosa, both of them very accurate on penalty conversions and who produced six goals each. While La Aguada struggled to get closer in the score, La Hache Cría & Polo slowed down with the aim to secure the result. They scored five goals in threee chukkas, but La Aguada kept coming closer. At the end of the day, the efforts didn’t pay off. The damage has already been done, and La Hache Cría & Polo won 18-15.
Saturday November 16 was a different story, with two extraordinary matches. La Zeta Kazak and Cría La Dolfina opened fire; somewhat, it seemed a very predictable game, but nothing is over until is over. La Zeta Kazak, who lost their two previous contests, needed to secure a win to keep hopes to qualify to the 2025 Triple Crown or at least go to the playoff with the winner of the Cámara de Diputados Cup. Cría La Dolfina claimed a quick lead in the first chukka, courtesy of Bautista Bayugar, but after the 2-all in the second, and under the command of a fantastic Nico Pieres, La Zeta Kazak remained on Cria La Dolfina’s tail, who despite the pressure, managed to maintain a close lead (the average gap was two goals in favour of Cria La Dolfina). They stepped into the last chukka one goal up (12-11), and La Zeta Kazak knew that they had to put on their best if they wanted to reach their goal. And indeed, the last chukka was a tough battle; forget about the red hot weather, we have a game to win! Nico Pieres tied at 12-all, but Bautista Bayugar replied quickly for Cría La Dolfina. La Zeta Kazak didn’t give up, and another tie (13-13) came, courtesy of Matías Torres Zavaleta. With less than a minute remaining, many already thought of an extra chukka. But suddenly, and with only four seconds remaining, 17-years-old Beltrán Lauhlé came from nowhere and ran to the goalposts to seal the deal. Mission accomplished, La Zeta Kazak claimed a spectacular 14-13 win, a win they needed so bad.
Later in the afternoon, on ground 2, Indios Chapaleufu and La Hache clashed in the second match of the day. It’s worth to notice that La Hache had Tomás Beresford subbing in for the injured Tomás Panelo. Right from the start, the Chapaleufu young boys demonstrated to be real tough contenders – Polito Pieres produced the first goal for La Hache with five minutes in the chukka. And that was all for La Hache, because from the second chukka onwards, the game belonged to Indios Chapaleufu, four young boys (Cruz Heguy, his cousin Antonio, Teo Lacau and Torito Ruiz), who demonstrated to be up to the task and who were not intimidated by the experience of the recent winners of the Tortugas Open. Led by an outstanding Cruz Heguy, who scored nine goals, and was very accurate on penalty conversions, Indios Chapaleufu almost overwhelmed La Hache, with the accuracy of the most seasoned professionals. By the time to play the last chukka, Indios Chapaleufu were leading 14-12. But the deal was said and done after Cruz Heguy converted two penalties to extend the advantage to 16-12. Time was running up, and La Hache had no enough time. Just one more goal by Fran Elizalde, but luck was on Indios Chapaleufu’s side, who claimed a very well deserved 16-13 victory in one of the most remarkable games of the whole season.
The 131st. Argentine Polo Open Championship will resume on Sunday November 17, with a single game, Ellerstina vs. La Ensenada due at 4,3opm.
The final of the 131st. Argentine Polo Open Championship is due on Saturday December 7.
131st. Argentine Polo Open Championship – Teams & Fixture
Cover photo by Matias Callejo.