Tomas Panelo only joined the La Dolfina BN team for the Out-Sourcing Inc. Royal Windsor Cup Final. Adolfo Cambiaso, the team’s regular nine-goaler, was injured and so Panelo was called into action. He certainly delivered, scoring all of his team’s goals – the majority penalties - to give La Dolfina BN a 9-7 victory.
It was a tight game across all five chukkas. Neither team could establish a lead, ensuring honours remained pretty even until the final chukka. Calatagan Polo Team had claimed a narrow, 5-4 advantage at half-time, but knew they couldn’t relax for a moment. Panelo proved this point when he fired through three goals in the fifth to give La Dolfina BN a three-goal lead for the first time in the match. Although Calatagan Polo Team’s patron, Marty Romualdez picked up a great pass from Simon Prado to score the final goal of the game, his second of the match, Panelo’s accurate penalty taking was enough to guarantee victory for La Dolfina BN in this prestigious 15-goal final. If Cambiaso had played it would have been his third final, having won with Geebung in 2000 and La Dolfina Valiente in 2018.
Babar Naseem, playing in his first tournament at Guards Polo Club, received the coveted trophy from Zara Phillips, HM Queen Elizabeth ll’ s granddaughter, alongside Dolph Westerbos, CEO of Out-Sourcing International, David Matsumoto, Chairman of Matsumoto Tech who was representing the tournament sponsors, Out-Sourcing Inc, and the sponsor’s lead guest, leading actor Jean Reno. Zara also presented the Out-Sourcing Inc. Most Valuable Player prize to Hugo Taylor. He had been superb in defence on The Queen’s Ground at Guards Polo Club, successfully shutting down the usually strong partnership between Calatagan’s Prado and Santiago Laborde.
Adolfo Cambiaso, whose eldest daughter Mia had also delivered a strong performance for the winning team, joined his grooms to receive the Out-Sourcing Inc. Best Playing Pony prize for DS Popular. This six-year-old bay stallion is owned by Cambiaso and was played by Panelo in this final.
Twenty-two teams entered the 2025 tournament, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The sub final, traditionally played in the morning for the Mountbatten Cup, saw victory for last year’s main cup finalists, Nicky Sen’s Amanara Polo Team. Despite trailing 7-5 in the fifth, some great play from Lorenzo Chavanne in the final minutes saw Nicky’s team go on to defeat Spencer McCarthy’s Emlor squad 8-7 at the final bell. However, Emlor’s James McCarthy, who had been impressive throughout this match, was named the Most Valuable Player.
In addition to some outstanding polo, spectators were treated to two additional equine displays. The first was a breathtaking performance from the Knights of Middle England, featuring jousting and trick riding. The day closed with an elegant carriage driving display, made up of the class winners from the British Driving Society’s Summer Show, which had taken place on another field at the Club.
La Dolfina BN: Babar Naseem (0); Mia Cambiaso (2); Hugo Taylor (4); Tomas Panelo (9). Calatagan Polo Team: Marty Romualdez (0); Lucas Nottin (3); Simon Prado (6); Santiago Laborde (6).
Amanara Polo Team: Nicky Sen (0); Hazel Jackson (2); Lorenzo Chavanne (6); Beltran Laulhe (7). Emlor: Spencer McCarthy (1); James McCarthy (2); Max Charlton (6); Javier Guerrero (6).
Images copyright Art of Polo
