The featured game of the week at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington on Sunday, Jan. 6 saw an exciting match in the 2019 Joe Barry Memorial Cup that came down to the final second with Dutta Corp (Timmy Dutta, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Gringo Colombres and Kris Kampsen) surviving a second-half comeback from SD Farms (Sayyu Dantata, Peco Polledo, Juan Martin Obregon and Jesse Bray) to claim a 13-12 victory.
On a perfect day for polo, Dutta Corp raced out of the gate with Colombres leading the charge, producing long runs to goal and finishing with accuracy to give his team the early lead. The potent Dutta Corp offense seemed to be an unstoppable force once again, scoring 10 goals in the first half and excelling in a possession game that saw plenty of support for the ball carrier.
The momentum changed in the second half, as the pace of play increased and SD Farms patron Dantata made his impact on the game with multiple runs and strong defensive plays.
Completing a nice run for his second goal of the game, Dantata’s presence on the ball freed up the rest of his team as they fought their way back into the game after accurate passes downfield and accurate shooting. Bray’s first goal of the game tied the game at 11-11, much to the excitement of the crowd in the grandstand.
After Colombres and Bray traded goals to restore the tie, a miscue from SD Farms saw Colombres quickly jump on the loose ball and run it through the goal to put his team up by one with minutes remaining. A late run from SD Farms saw Bray break away for a run with time expiring, but a long shot from 100 yards out didn’t make it to the goal in time and Dutta Corp claimed victory to remain undefeated in the Joe Barry Memorial Cup.
Colombres captured his second consecutive MVP award behind a seven-goal performance, while his horse Coquito also won Best Playing Pony.
Earlier in the day, Patagones also improved to 2-0 in a 14-9 victory over Santa Clara. What started as a close game got away from Santa Clara in the third chukker, as Patagones’ Tomas Garcia del Rio produced a clinical passing attack to set up in the 4-0 chukker to end the half. Starting with a 10-5 lead, Patagones traded goals with Santa Clara throughout the second half. Ultimately, the strong Patagones attack that saw 12 goals from Garcia del Rio and Toccalino, thanks to strong support from Joaquin and Benjamin Avendano, proved to be too much for Santa Clara.
