Travieso turned in one of its finest performances of the World Polo League season in the Triple Crown of Polo opener Sunday at Grand Champions Polo Club.
By Sharon Robb
Photos by Candace Ferreira
Travieso (Tony Calle, 3, Pipe Vercellino, 7, Juan Martin Zubia, 9, Fred Mannix, 7) led for most of the game to defeat Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, 3, Hilario Figueras, 6, Rufino Bensadon, 8, Sapo Caset, 9), 15-12.
Tony Calle, playing above his 3-goal handicap with his scrappy play, was Most Valuable Player.
“I am having so much fun this season, I can’t even put into words,” Calle said. “I am playing at a lot of practices and spending time with these really great players. I’m lucky enough to have them telling me what I am doing wrong and I am lucky enough to hear it.
“I want to improve,” Calle said. “This is the only way to improve my level is to play with these players and get some insight to the sport I wouldn’t see if I wasn’t on the field with them. I am very grateful for them and their positive feedback. I couldn’t be more thrilled having them as teammates. They are all top people as well as top players.”
El Tio Nitrogeno, an 8-year-old Bay mare played by Pipe Vercellino at the end of the fourth chukker, was the World Polo League Best Playing Pony.
4get Me Not, a 12-year-old Bay mare played by Sapo Caset in the second chukker and bred and owned by Santa Rita Polo Farm, was the American Polo Horse Association Best Playing Pony.
Casablanca was in control early in the opening chukker. Caset scored off the throw-in and two minutes later Figueras scored for a 2-0 lead. Vercellino converted the first of four penalties to trail 2-1. Bensadon made it 3-1 on a near side neck shot, scoring off a long pass from Caset. Vercellino converted a 30-yard penalty to trail 3-2 going into the second chukker.
Calle opened the second chukker with a goal following up a Zubia attempted shot to tie the game, 3-3. Travieso and Casablanca exchanged leads twice before Travieso took over, hitting away with intensity and aggressiveness, outscoring Casablanca, 4-1, for a 9-6 halftime lead.
In the first half, Travieso doubled up on Casablanca in shots-on-goal, 14-7, and led in throw-ins, 9-7. Casablanca committed eight fouls to Travieso’s two. Casablanca led in knock-ins, 5-1.
“We started off the bat pretty strong,” Calle said. “We try to play as unselfish polo as we can. We are going to keep pushing.”
Casablanca was unable to regain its early momentum and trailed by as many as five goals, 11-6, after Zubia scored after a great run as Vercellino took out the defender with 3:02 left in the fourth chukker and 12-7 at the end of the chukker.
Travieso continued to take advantage of three broken plays and foul-trouble by Casablanca in the fifth chukker to take leads of 13-7, 14-7 and 15-9.
Casablanca attempted to rally in the final chukker with Caset lofting a goal at the 6:58 mark and Ganzi picking up a loose ball to score a minute later and trail, 15-11. Travieso played it smart, not wanting to foul in the closing minutes. Caset scored one more goal off a safety to trail, 15-12, but could get no closer as time ran out.
“The main thing is we have been playing with the same team all last tournament and this tournament,” Calle said. “Confidence-wise this is huge and reaffirms that we are doing the right things. The other games we lost we can try to put them back in the rear view mirror, not forget but move forward and keep having that intensity and that fire, knowing we can play well and keep on going game by game. Winning this would be a perfect end to the season.”
For the game, Travieso led in shots on goal, 24-15 and throw-ins, 14-13. Casablanca led in knock-ins, 9-3, and fouls, 11-5.
Vercellino scored a team-high eight goals, including four penalty conversions for Travieso. Zubia and Mannix each had three goals and Calle added one goal.
Caset had a team-high eight goals for Casablanca. Bensadon had two goals. Ganzi and Figueras each had one.
With the help of his father, Teo, and Marc and Melissa Ganzi, Tony Calle put the team together.
“They guided me through this and I am very happy I trusted their judgement,” Calle said.
The much-anticipated 26-goal Triple Crown of Polo is the fourth and final tournament of the WPL.
In last year’s Triple Crown of Polo, Park Place (Andrey Borodin, 0, Juan Britos, 9, Hilario Ulloa, 10, Joaquin Panelo, 6) held on for a thrilling 12-11 victory over defending champion and previously undefeated Audi (Marc Ganzi, 1, Nacho Figueras, 5, Jeta Castagnola, 10, Pablo MacDonough, 10). Panelo was MVP.
The coveted Triple Crown of Polo trophy is comprised of three separate trophies that fit perfectly together to create an entire polo scene that is breathtaking in sterling silver.
The WPL tournament winners will be inscribed on the trophy and added to an impressive list of teams that feature several top players including Sebastian Merlos, Mike Azzaro, Tommy Biddle, Adam Snow, Nic Roldan, Matias Magrini, Jeff Hall, Mariano Gonzalez, Michel Dorignac, Kris Kampsen, Gringo Colombres and Jeta Castagnola.
The first three 2025 WPL tournaments have thrilled fans and worldwide livestream viewing audiences. The WPL kicked off its seventh season on Feb. 16th making history with a first-of-its kind matchup. Casablanca captured the first-ever WPL 32-Goal All-Star Challenge Riemenschneider Memorial.
In front of a packed house, Casablanca (Sapo Caset, 9, Grant Ganzi, 3, Tommy Panelo, 10, Juan Martin Nero, 10) led from start to finish to defeat Santa Rita (Nic Roldan, 7, Tomacho Pieres, 6, Pablo MacDonough, 10, Juan Martin Zubia, 9), 8-5. Caset led Casablanca with a game-high five goals and was named MVP.
Casablanca made it two in a row capturing the Founders Cup with a hardfought 14-12 win over Alegria (Jason Crowder, 5, Fred Mannix, 7, Nic Roldan, 7, Tommy Collingwood, 5). Caset earned his second MVP award.
Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, 0, Mackie Weisz, 6, Pablo MacDonough, 10, Juan Martin Nero, 10) defeated Travieso (Tony Calle, 3, Pipe Vercellino, 7, Juan Martin Zubia, 9, Fred Mannix, 7), 13-12, to win the Palm Beach Open and finished undefeated at 4-0.