By Sarah Eakin
Park Place’s 10-9 win against Coca-Cola in overtime of the USPA Gold Cup final on Sunday, March 23 — taking the second of the trio of tournaments in the Gauntlet of Polo at the National Polo Center in Wellington — was an emotional one. Prior to the start of the high-goal season, Argentina’s Rufino Laulhé — slated to play for Park Place this winter in Wellington — was killed in a car crash in January, before leaving for Florida.
The promising 15-year-old player was on everyone’s mind for the final, and Park Place wore a sticker on the team jersey’s sleeves, spelling “Rufo.” The victory was bittersweet. “I want to honor Rufo Laulhé today,” said Park Place’s captain, 10-goaler Hilario Ulloa. “We had a tough start of the season. I wish he would have been here. Louis did an amazing job, but this final has been very emotional due to what happened. Today, we were with five guys on the field, probably he was around, and he helped us.”
Louis Hine, a 19-year-old Wellington high-goal polo rookie from England, tried out for the team, and once granted the opportunity, proved his mettle, winning the Most Valuable Player award in the final.
“When I managed to get the spot on the team, I knew I just had to go throw everything at it and do my best,” Hine said. “I was lucky that we clicked well with the boys from early on, and we kind of got better and better every game, getting to know each other.”
His teammate, Mariano “Peke” Gonzalez Jr., may have been in contention for the MVP having been a game changer in defense and attack. His reward came in the form of Best Playing Pony for his impressive grey horse 5. He played the gelding in the first and fifth chukkers, both times scoring from the field.
Both teams arrived at the final unbeaten — their presence ensuring that the Sunday U.S. Polo Assn. Field One Gauntlet tournament final showdown was noticeable by the absence of either Poroto or Adolfo Cambiaso for the first time since the U.S. Open in 2022. In banking a C.V. Whitney Cup win, money was on Adolfo Cambiaso to pull off a first-time acquisition of the Gauntlet of Polo, a rare polo accolade that has so far eluded him, and has only been acquired once when Pilot took home all three tournaments in the Gauntlet’s inaugural year in 2019. Adolfo’s son, Poroto, with La Dolfina/Catamount, met La Dolfina/Tamera in the quarterfinal, and when Poroto came out on top with a 12-11 win due to his last-minute breakaway goal, hopes of a Gauntlet win for his father this year were dashed.
Park Place was ahead 7-5 at halftime in the UPSA Gold Cup final, but the match went into overtime, as Coca-Cola captain Polito Pieres engineered a field goal and a penalty at the culmination of the sixth chukker to push the match into a seventh chukker. Park Place secured a spot penalty in front of goal in the sudden death period, and Coca-Cola’s hope of securing its first win in the USPA Gold Cup was all but over.
“It’s a pity for them,” Ulloa said. “We played an amazing first half, but we knew they were going to come back. I feel it has been anybody’s game.”
The victory may not have given Park Place the Gauntlet, but it did give Andrey Borodin’s team a title in all three tournaments. “It’s our first ever Gold Cup win here,” Park Place manager Ash Price said. “We won the C.V. Whitney twice, and the U.S. Open, so to win the Gold Cup here is incredible.”
Focus now moves to the U.S. Open Polo Championship as all 11 teams from the previous two tournaments of the Gauntlet return to the action, joined by one new team, Melissa Ganzi’s The Setai. Ganzi is one of two women competing in the U.S. Open, with finals slated for Sunday, April 20. Coca-Cola team owner Gillian Johnston is the only other female in contention, and after losing in the finals of the C.V. Whitney and the USPA Gold Cup, Coca-Cola seeks to put the record straight.
Read more by equestrian writer Sarah Eakin at www.paperhorsemedia.com.
