Thu 16th Jul 2026To the Final Dubai and Gaston to battle it out for The St. Regis Cowdray Gold Cup title
It was all go and all drama at Cowdray Park Polo Club on Wednesday 16 July as the four remaining teams in The St. Regis British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup battled it out for that all important spot in Sunday’s Final.
Two blistering matches took place and crowds were treated to a true showcase of high goal talent and excitement as first up Ferne Park took on Dubai Polo team. With four Gold Cup titles under their belts (the last as recently as 2024) Dubai entered the field with all the confidence of a team already prepping their horse lists for Sunday’s match. They took control early and despite some great plays from Facundo Pieres and Joaquin Pittaluga, which showed flashes of how they had reached this far in the tournament, Ferne Park were unable to make great impact on the consistent attacking force of the green machines Barto Castagnola, Santos Merlos, Antonio Heguy and Tariq Albwardy. Six goals apiece to Castagnola and Heguy plus three off the stick of Merlos saw the team steamroll their way to a 15-12 victory and the first spot in the Final.
Next up, team of the season and winners of both The Trippets Challenge and The Cartier Queen’s Cup, La Hechicera (formerly Balanz Capital) took on Gaston Polo Team and many felt they could anticipate the result and were ready to watch a rerun of The Queen’s Cup Semi between Dubai and Balanz. But in the upset of the season, a determined Gaston side came out all guns blazing. While La Hechicera started strong, their customary attacking strategy of moving the ball seamlessly between Jeta Castagnola and Lorenzo Chavanne seeing them take an early lead and move into halftime three goals up, Gaston had other ideas. Never more than a few goals behind, Gaston battled hard throughout, leaving the best until last when they pulled out all the stops in the final chukka. Neutralising any Hechicera attack they switched on their offensive strategy, coming from 11-10 down at the end of the fifth to equalise before Cruz Heguy scored an incredible under the neck off the counter attack in the final 30 seconds of the game to snatch the victory.
In the upset of the season, it will be Gaston that take on Gold Cup giants, Dubai in the long-awaited Final on Sunday 19 July.
The St. Regis British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup Final teams:
Dubai (22): Tariq Albwardy (0), Bartolomé ‘Barto’ Castagnola (9), Santos Merlos (6) & Antonio Heguy (7)
Gaston (22): Jean Paul Luksic (0), Beltrán Laulhé (7), Gonzalo Ferrari (8) & Cruz Heguy (7)
Photograph: Barto Castagnola plucks the ball out of the air for Dubai. By Mark Beaumont
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