La Dolfina/Marques de Riscal 15 – 9 Ojo Caliente

Gaston Polo Team 10 – 9 Desert Palm

If anyone were in any doubt as to why Adolfo Cambiaso Junior, known as Poroto, has a 10-goal handicap then today’s Cartier Queen’s Cup match against Ojo Caliente would have educated them. This teenage player – he is still only 19 – was everywhere for La Dolfina/Marques de Riscal, making space, keeping his cool and making goals look effortless. He even found time for a bit of tennis in the second when scoring the equaliser (5-5). Ana Escobedo’s Ojo Caliente had come into this game unbeaten and were leading 4-1 after the first chukka. But they struggled in the later stages of this match to peg back their much younger opposition, who had an average age of 21.5! La Dolfina/Marques de Riscal had been forced to change their line-up for this match as their patron Alejandro Azar was still recovering from last week’s fall. Aznar’s place was taken by his son Luis. As he plays off a higher handicap than his father, the six-goaler Lucas Criado Junior joined the team in place of Carlos Ulloa.  With the scores tied once more (9-9) going into the fifth, La Dolfina/Marques de Riscal began to pull away. Goals from Criado and Cambiaso gave them a comfortable, 13-9 lead going into the final chukka. Ojo Caliente stayed focused but struggled to get on terms. Rufino Merlos added to La Dolfina/Marques de Riscal’s tally early into the sixth and some great team-work from Cambiaso and Criado delivered another goal to ensure La Dolfina/Marques de Riscal won this match 15-9.

Next up was a trophy match on the Princes’ Ground. Jean-Paul Luksic’s Gaston Polo Team were looking for their first victory in this tournament and not only headed home with a win, but also the Richard Watt Cup. They narrowly beat Desert Palm 10-9, although they had been comfortably ahead for much of the game. They were leading 7-3 at the start of the fourth. Desert Palm had a change of line-up today as their patron, Tariq Albwardy, was available to play for the first time. This meant that the six-goaler Javier Guerrero could be part of the team too, while Mia Cambiaso and Kian Hall had to stand down. Maybe it was the change of personnel, but Desert Palm struggled to recreate their previous success in the early chukkas. Plenty of strong attacking and defensive play from Gaston’s Guillermo “Sapo” Caset and Cruz Heguy also made life difficult for Desert Palm. Albwardy’s team started getting into gear in the fifth with some great teamwork from Barto Castagnola and Guerrero. That said it was Gaston’s patron, Luksic who finished the chukka with a fabulous field goal, picking up a superb pass from Caset, to put his team into double figures (10-6) heading into the sixth. Beltran Laulhe led the Desert Palm fight back early in the final chukka with a lovely goal, followed by Castagnola converting a penalty with 20-odd seconds left on the clock. Time was against Desert Palm though and it was Jean-Paul Luksic who received the Richard Watt Cup, named in memory of a former Chairman of Guards Polo Club, from General Sir Redmond Watt.

 Images copyright Pablo Ramirez