La Dolfina Great Oaks vs King Power & Dubai vs Talandracas
The Quarter Finals of The British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup were played over the weekend 13 – 14 July at Cowdray Park Polo Club.
In the opening game on Saturday 13 July, La Dolfina Great Oaks secured a narrow 11-10 win against Desert Palm to take the first spot in the Semi Finals and the second match was equally matched between King Power and Valhalla who battled it out in heavy rain; King Power took the win by just one goal, 9-8.
On Sunday 14 July, Black Bears faced Dubai, who have been the finalists of The Cowdray Gold Cup in 2022 and 2023. Led by Jeta Castagnola who scored 11 goals, Dubai dominated the scoreboard and secured an impressive 15-6 win and the third spot in the Semi Finals. The fourth Quarter Final of the match pitched recent winners of The Cartier Queen’s Cup, Talandracas, versus La Dolfina Murus Sanctus. Talandracas held a three goal advantage, 10-7, going into the sixth chukka but La Dolfina Murus Sanctus fought back and outscored their opponents, 11-10 but a last minute goal from Polito Pieres pushed the match into an extra chukka11-11. Pieres then converted a 60 yard penalty to clinch the win for Talandracas, 12-11.
The Semi Finals will be played on Wednesday 17 July with La Dolfina Great Oaks vs King Power at 12pm and Dubai vs Talandracas at 3pm.
The British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup Semi Final Teams:
Talandracas (22): Rosendo Torreguitar (5), Polito Pieres (10), Alejandro Muzzio (7) & Hugues Carmignac (0)
Dubai (22): Jeta Castagnola (10), Rashid Albwardy (2), Antonio Heguy (5) & Beltrán Laulhé (5)
La Dolfina Great Oaks (22): Dillon Bacon (2), Kian Hall (3), Diego Cavanagh (8) & Poroto Cambiaso (9)
King Power (22): Top Srivaddhanaprabha (1), William Harper (4), Pablo MacDonough (9) & Nico Pieres (8)
Photograph: Dubai narrowly won their Quarter Final against Black Bears on Sunday 14 July. By Mark Beaumont