Mon 8th Mar 2021C.V. Whitney Cup FinalPark Place prevail for $100,000 prize money
On 7 March The C.V. Whitney Cup Final was played at the International Polo Club, Palm Beach, ending the battle between nine teams for this illustrious 22 goal title which started back on 17 February. The tournament comes with the added kudos of being the first leg of the Gauntlet of Polo and with it a £100,000 prize. Scone came into the Final undefeated with an unblemished four victory record through the qualifiers and so were the ones to watch on paper. But Park Place were not rolling over, evenly matching every Scone offence which made the result anybody’s guess for the duration of the game, as the scores were never more than a goal apart at any stage. In a 10-goal master class it was Hilario Ulloa who led Park Place’s attack, scoring seven of his team’s 11 goals, with Adolfo Cambiaso smoothly notching up four goals for Scone, ably backed up by Peke Gonzalez playing strongly off his 6 goal handicap with a tally of four. With goal matched for goal and neither side conceding a point without a battle, it was no surprise that the close-fought drama spilled over into an extra chukka. Five minutes of overtime saw missed opportunities for Scone’s Poroto Cambiaso and then from Park Place’s Matt Coppola. Ultimately it was the might of Ulloa who prevailed, finding Jack Whitman on the boards who raced part David Paradice to slot the ball through the posts to secure a Park Place win 11-10. For his efforts Jack Whitman was named as MVP, while Best Playing Pony went to Hilario Ulloa’s Lavina Heroica. The C.V. Whitney Cup Final Teams: Park Place (22): Jack Whitman – substitute for Andrey Borodin (0), Matt Coppola (4), Juan Britos (8) & Hilario Ulloa (10) Scone (22): David Paradice (0), Peke Gonzalez (6), Poroto Cambiaso (6) & Adolfo Cambiaso (10) Photograph: During the entire game the teams were always within one goal of each other, leading to a thrilling extra chukka. By ©Alex Pacheco |