Mon 21st May 2018The Hai Air Prince of Wales TrophyMonterosso steal the crown
On Saturday 19 May, Valiente and Monterosso battled for The Hai Air Prince of Wales Trophy at The Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club. Valiente secured their place in the Final having cruised their way through the earlier stages with a clean record. Monterosso earned their place as the result of what seemed like an endless penalty shootout with Emlor on Thursday 17 May. Under beautiful sunshine at ‘The Berkshire’, the crowd were treated to a spectacular game of polo. The first chukka was very close, but as the first half continued it was the Toccalino brothers who really showed their skills, combined with the strong performances from team mates Juan Martín Zubía and Monterosso Captain, Alessandro Bazzoni, allowing the team to take an early lead from the second chukka. Valiente were not showing their form from earlier games and weren’t quite able to make up the deficit going into half-time, with Monterosso leading 7-4. The second half continued in much the same form with Zubía really wowing the crowd with not just his ball skills, but his fearlessness of taking on the world number one, Adolfo Cambiaso. Despite Valiente’s best efforts, their tactics were just not working, and luck wasn’t on their side. Monterosso ran out the deserved winners, 13-8. Juan Martín Zubía was presented with The Most Valuable Player Award, whilst Santiago Toccalino’s pony, Winner, was presented with the Polo Times Best Playing Pony rug. The Hai Air Prince of Wales Trophy Final Teams: Monterosso (22): Alessandro Bazzoni (0), Juan Martín Zubía (6), Ignacio ‘Cubi’ Toccalino (8) & Santiago Toccalino (8) Valiente (22): Rob Jornayvaz (1), Hugo Lewis (4), Adolfo Cambiaso (10) & Christian ‘Magoo’ Laprida (7) Photograph: Monterosso, despite the odds stacked against them, defeated Valiente in the Final of The Hai Air Prince of Wales Trophy. By Polo Times |