The USPA Gold Cup, the second leg of The Gauntlet of Polo, continued through Friday March 8 and Sunday March 10 at the National Polo Center, in Wellington, in Florida, United States. The USPA Gold Cup, that preceeds the most significant polo contest in the United States, the US Open, was played for the first time in 1974, so this year is celebrating its 50th. The USPA Gold Cup sees nine teams up to 22 goals, in participation.
The latest results have been as follow:
Friday March 8
Pilot 12-11 Clearwater
Saturday March 9
Valiente 13-9 La Fe
Sunday March 10
La Dolfina/Tonkawa 14-8 Dutta Corp
Coca Cola 11-8 Tamera
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
All teams will play four preliminary matches each. Following the conclusion of preliminary play, all teams will be ranked 1-9. The top four ranked teams will draw for semifinal pairings with the winners of the semifinals advancing to the USPA Gold Cup final. Any ties between teams that played each other will be broken by who-beat-who. All other ties will be broken by a one-player shootout. The Retama Cup will serve as the subsidiary to the USPA Gold Cup. Teams who do not qualify for the semifinals of the USPA Gold Cup will automatically be entered in the Retama Cup.
The final of the USPA Gold Cup is due on Sunday March 24, at the National Polo Center.
USPA GOLD CUP
FRIDAY MARCH 8
PILOT 12-11 CLEARWATER
Pilot: Curtis Pilot 0, Antonio Heguy 6, Santiago Torres 6, Facundo Pieres 10. Total: 22.
Clearwater: Chip Campbell 1, Raúl Colombres 8, Lucas Criado Jr. 7, Jared Zenni 6. Total: 22.
Score Pilot: 1-1, 2-2, 5-4, 9-6, 9-9, 12-11.
Umpires: Héctor Galindo & Steve Dalton. Third man: Julian Appleby.
SATURDAY MARCH 9
VALIENTE 13-9 LA FE
Valiente: Bob Jornayvaz 0, Peke Gonzalez 7, Paco de Narvaez Jr 5**, Adolfo Cambiaso 10. Total: 22.
*Subbed in by Federico Panzillo, in the fifth chukka.
La Fe: Lucas Diaz Alberdi 6, Robi Bilbao 6, Francisco Elizalde 9, Louis Devaleix 1. Total: 22.
Score Valiente: 2-3, 3-4, 6-5, 9-5, 10-8, 13-9.
Umpires: Danny Juarez & Julian Appleby. Third man: Martin Pascual.
SUNDAY MARCH 10
LA DOLFINA/TONKAWA 14-6 DUTTA CORP
La Dolfina/Tonkawa: Jeff Hildebrand 9, Rufino Merlos 3, Poroto Cambiaso 10, Tomás Panelo 9. Total: 22.
Dutta Corp: Joaquín Avendaño 4, Mariano Obregón 6, Tomás García del Río 8, Timmy Dutta 4. Total: 21.
Score La Dolfina/Tonkawa: 2-4, 4-5, 5-6, 8-6, 11-7, 14-8.
Umpires: Gastón Lucero & Steve Dalton. Third man: Danny Juarez.
COCA COLA 11-8 TAMERA
Coca Cola: Gillian Johnston 0, Kristos Magrini 6, Pablo Pieres 9, Julián de Lusarreta 7. Total: 22.
Tamera: Alejandro Poma 1, Segundo Saravi 5, Matías Torres Zavaleta 8, Diego Cavanagh 8. Total: 22.
Score Coca Cola: 3-1, 5-3, 5-6, 9-6, 10-8, 11-8.
Umpires: Kimo Huddleston & Martín Pascual. Third man Julian Appleby.
The last league phase of the USPA Gold Cup prior to the semifinals on Wednesday March 20, will be played next week, with the following order of play:
Tuesday March 12
11am: Pilot vs. La Fe
Wednesday March 13
11am: Valiente vs. Clearwater
3pm: Park Place vs. Tamera
Friday March 15
11am: Coca Cola vs. Dutta Corp
Saturday March 16
11am: Valiente vs. Park Place
Sunday March 17
3pm: Pilot vs. La Dolfina/Tonkawa
USPA Gold Cup – Teams & Fixture
2024 THE GAUNTLET OF POLO CALENDAR
CV Whitney Cup: February 9 – 25.
USPA Gold Cup: February 28 – March 24.
U.S. Open Polo Championship: March 22 – April 21.
Utilizing the same prize money distribution for the 2023 Gauntlet of Polo, the format guarantees a total of $200,000 in prize money. $50,000 will be awarded to each of the winning teams of the C.V. Whitney Cup and USPA Gold Cup. Similarly, $100,000 in prize money will bepresented to the winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship and any team that wins all three tournaments will be crowned the Gauntlet Champion. In keeping with the spirit of philanthropy, U.S. Polo Assn. will provide a $2,500 donation to the winner and runner-up teams of all three finals to be donated to a polo charity of their choice.
All Sunday games are due on the National Polo Center main ground.
Cover photo, by Agustina Fonda.