PALERMO, POLO AND THE PAMPAS

  

(Please click above to enlarge...
 Photos : Catherine Hartley)

"Of Adolfo Cambiaso, Asiatic Boy
and the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini"

In two exciting "semi-final" matches played on the number one field at Palermo, La Dolfina and Ellerstina beat Pilara and La Aguada respectively, to secure their spots in the final on Saturday! From all accounts tickets are all but sold out and we expect a well fought game between the 40 goal Ellerstina team and the more experienced 39-goal La Dolfina team when they ride out onto the hallowed ground of Palermo one. Ellerstina will be trying to win the coveted triple crown, following on their previous two wins in the Tortugas and Hurlingham Opens, so will be determined to win this third leg. However, one can never underestimate the magician, Adolfo Cambiaso and when the chips are down he is at his best.

As incredible as the polo, fields, horses and sheer volume of players is, Argentina is not only about polo and we have had a few great days out in the country, topped off by a quick visit to Abolengo Stud and Asiatic Boy. The stud is magnificent and to see Asiatic Boy was certainly special. Having last seen him win the 2007 UAE Derby for Sheikh Mohammed and Mike de Kock, Asiatic Boy then ran up a fantastic second to Curlin in the 2008 Dubai World Cup. He continued under Mike's care for the 2009 season, which included a win in the third round of the Maktoum Challenge, before taking on the American's. He was retired to his native Argentina earlier this year and this is his first season at stud.

Saturday also sees the running of the biggest race on the Argentine calendar, the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini, which is being run at San Isidro and not at the Hippodromo oppostite the Polo fields, so sadly we have to pick one and will have to miss the race.

However, results of the Open will be posted as we have them, so watch this space!

THE ARGENTINE OPEN POLO

Polo players in action
( Photo : Catherine Hartley)

Who's your money on this year?

It’s that time of year again; when all eyes in the polo world turn to Buenos Aires, Argentina!

In 3 days time the 117th Campeonato Argentino Abierto de Polo del Bicentenario Movistar gets going at the Palermo premises of the Asociación Argentina de Polo. This is the world's leading and most popular high-handicap polo event and is a mecca for polo players and horsemen who appreciate the innate ability of the Argentinians.

Kickoff date is Saturday, November 20th. The opening day will see La Dolfina vs. Sao José (2:00 p.m., local time, on field 2) and Pilará vs. Chapa Uno (4:30 p.m., local time on field 1).

Vuma Feeds will be there for the semi-finals and final and we’ll keep you posted on the results. Last year our money was on the La Dolfina team to beat Ellerstina but with a change in their team, they may just give the young Ellerstina combination the edge that they are looking for! Watch this space!

Match Dates

Saturday, November 20th
La Dolfina vs. Sao José
Pilará vs. Chapa Uno

Sunday, November 21st
Ellerstina vs. Alegría
La Aguada vs. Indios Chapaleufú II

Saturday, November 27th
Loser of match between La Dolfina / Sao José vs. Winner of match between Pilará / Chapa Uno
Winner of match between La Dolfina / Sao José vs. Loser of match between Pilará / Chapa Uno

Sunday, November 28th
Loser of match betweenEllerstina / Alegría vs. Winner of match between La Aguada / Indios Chapaleufú II
Winner of match between Ellerstina / Alegría vs. Loser of match between La Aguada / Indios Chapaleufú II

Saturday, December 4th
Loser of match between La Dolfina / Sao José vs. Loser of match between Pilará / Chapa Uno
Winner of match between La Dolfina / Sao José vs. Winner of match between Pilará / Chapa Uno

Sunday, December 5th
Loser of match between Ellerstina / Alegría vs. Loser of match between La Aguada / Indios Chapaleufú II
Winner of match between Ellerstina / Alegría vs. Winner of match between La Aguada / Indios Chapaleufú II

Saturday, December 11th
Final

The Teams:
Zone A
La Dolfina
Adolfo Cambiaso (Jr.) 10
Lucas Monteverde (Jr.) 10
David Stirling (Jr.) 9
Bartolomé Castagnola 10
Total: 39

Chapa Uno
Bautista Heguy 9
Hilario Ulloa 9
Juan Ignacio Merlos 9
Matías Mac Donough 8
Total: 35

Pilará
Agustín Merlos 9
Santiago Chavanne 8
Sebastián Merlos 9
Tomás García del Río 7
Total: 33

Sao José
Pablo Pieres (Jr.) 7
Nicolás Pieres 7
Jaime García Huidobro 8
Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade 8
Total: 30

Zone B
Ellerstina
Facundo Pieres 10
Gonzalo Pieres (Jr.) 10
Pablo Mac Donough 10
Juan Martín Nero 10
Total: 40

La Aguada
Javier Novillo Astrada 9
Eduardo Novillo Astrada (Jr.) 9
Miguel Novillo Astrada 10
Ignacio Novillo Astrada 9
Total: 37

Indios Chapaleufú II
Alberto Heguy (Jr.) 8
Ignacio Heguy 9
Matías Magrini 8
Eduardo Heguy 9
Total: 34

Alegría
Frederick Mannix (Jr.) 7
Francisco Bensadón 8
Mariano Aguerre 10
Francisco de Narváez (Jr.) 9
Total: 34

2009 ARGENTINE OPEN POLO CHAMPIONSHIP

The Argentine Open Polo Championships

Please click photo to enlarge

Who will be at the Argentine Open Polo Championship 2009 ?

Saturday 14th November marked the start of the 116th Argentine Open Polo Championship: the Abierto Argentino de Polo, or also known as just “El Abierto.”

The tournament culminates in the final on 5 December and is held every year at the Campo Argentino Campo in Palermo, Buenos Aires. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious events in the international polo calendar and brings together the best of the best in players and horses from around the world.

Apart from the polo itself the horses are an inspiration. The Argentines have created an industry around their polo ponies, and breeding via embryo transfer means that a player can potentially play a favourite mare and her two daughters in the same season. They have developed a stud book, selectively breeding the Argentine Polo Pony, a carefully chosen combination of the Criollo and the best English Thoroughbreds, continually refined and improved upon. At each Open Tournament the horses are as much a feature as the players and a separate programme is issued, which lists each player’s horses with their pedigrees.

Conveniently situated across the road from the Polo Fields is the Hipodromo Argentino, the race track. Thoroughbred racing and breeding is another passion of the Argentines and many Stud farms are situated in relatively close proximity to Buenos Aries.

One of the recent successes from the Argentine Pampas was the 2007 Dubai World Cup winner, Invasor, bred by Haras Clausan and sired by Candy Stripes out of the Interprete mare Quendom.

On November 4, 2006 Invasor, ridden by Fernando Jara, won the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs, Kentucky. This win essentially secured him the Eclipse Awards for Older Male Horse and Horse of the Year.

On March 31, 2007 Invasor, again ridden by Fernando Jara, took the $6 million Dubai World Cup in the United Arab Emirates against his rival Discreet Cat. His time of 1:59.97 for 2,000 meters was the second fastest in the race's history, exceeded only by Dubai Millennium's time of 1:59.50 in 2000.

For a racing and polo lover this is akin to “Mecca”!

Watch this space as we bring you the results of the final on 5 December. My money is on La Dolfina beating Ellerstina. After losing to the younger team last year, the older campaigners will be out to prove themselves!

Teams, fixtures and results

Zone A :

Ellerstina Etiqueta Negra :
Facundo Pieres 10, Gonzalo Pieres (Jr) 10, Pablo Mac Donough 10, Juan Martín Nero 10. Total: 40.

Pilará Piaget :
Agustín Merlos 10 , Santiago Chavanne 8, Sebastián Merlos 9, Marcos Heguy 10. Total: 37.

Indios Chapaleufú II :
Alberto Heguy (Jr) 8, Ignacio Heguy 9, David Stirling (Jr) 8, Eduardo Heguy 9. Total: 34.

Alegría :
Frederick Mannix (Jr) 6, Francisco Bensadón 8, Juan I. Merlos 9, Luke Tomlinson 8. Total: 31.

Zone B :

La Dolfina Peugeot :
Adolfo Cambiaso (Jr) 10, Lucas Monteverde (Jr) 10, Mariano Aguerre 10, Bartolomé Castagnola 10. Total: 40.

La Aguada Tupungato Winelands :
Javier Novillo Astrada 9, Eduardo Novillo Astrada (Jr) 9, Miguel Novillo Astrada 10, Ignacio Novillo Astrada 9. Total: 37.

Chapa Uno Hope Funds :
Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade 8, Hilario Ulloa 8, Bautista Heguy 9, Francisco de Narváez (h) 9. Total: 34.

El Paraíso :
Guillermo Caset (Jr) 8, Ignacio Toccalino 8, Mariano González 8, Alejandro Novillo Astrada 7. Total: 31

Fixtures

Saturday, 14 November

Zone A :
2:00PM : Ellerstina vs Alegria (1)
4.00 PM: Pilará vs Indios Chapaleufú II (2)

Results:
Ellerstina 20 - Alegria 15
Pilará 16 - Indios Chapaleufú II 15

Sunday, 15 November

Zone B :
2:00 PM: La Dolfina vs El Paraiso (3)
4:00 PM: La Aguada vs Chapa Uno (4)

Results:
La Dolfina 21 - El Paraiso 8
La Aguada 13 -Chapa Uno 9

Saturday, 21 November (Zone A) :

2:00 PM: Pilara vs Alegria
4:00 PM: Ellerstina vs Indios Chapaleufu II

Sunday, 22 November  (Zone B):
2:00 PM: La Aguada vs El Paraiso

4:00 PM: La Dolfina vs Chapa Uno

Saturday, 28 November (Zone A):
2:00 PM: Alegria vsIndios Chapaleufu II

4:00 PM: Ellerstina vs Pilara

Sunday, 29 November  (Zone B):
2:00 PM: El Paraiso vs Chapa Uno

4:00 PM: La Dolfina vs La Aguada

Final:
Saturday, 5 December:

5:00 PM: 1st Classified Zone A vs 1st Classified Zone B 

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