Guards Polo Club has announced that 12 teams will be playing in the coveted Queen’s Cup Tournament (21 May – 16 June). This includes the defending champions, Michael Bickford’s La Indiana. His team will not only feature 10-goal star Facundo Pieres but also Brazilian Rodrigo Andrade. This impressive duo experienced success in this tournament in 2013 with Zacara and will be keen to repeat that feat in 2019. There are several other familiar names in the mix: 2018 finalists, Andrey Borodin’s Park Place, again featuring tournament top scorer Juan Britos; and 2011 winners, the Carmignac family’s Talandracas team. Spencer McCarthy’s Emlor, winners of the 2018 Sub Final are hoping to go even further this year by fielding a strong combination of Alfredo Bigatti, Tincho Merlos and Fred Mannix.

Rashid Albwardy’s Dubai makes a welcome return and will be looking to secure their seventh win in this competition. The Middle East is also represented by HH Sheikha Maitha’s UAE Polo Team, featuring Sapo Caset and Santiago Toccalino. It is good to see Top Srivaddhanaprabha and his VS King Power team back in this high-goal mix too. Alessandro Bazzoni’s Monterosso and Hilali Noordeen’s Casa La Vista Ibiza are also returning to contest for honours.

Corinne Ricard is the only lady patron in the mix, bringing her Murus Sanctus to play the high-goal this season. This year she can call on the impressive, high-goal experience of Gonzalo Pieres.  Fellow Frenchman Jean-Francois Decaux is bringing some of the sport’s big guns to his La Bamba de Areco matches: 10-goaler Juan Martin Nero and 9-goaler Pelon Stirling, ensuring they will deliver some fast-paced polo.

The final team to this list is a new name to the 22-goal polo in the UK: David Paradice’s Scone Polo. This Australian is no stranger to the game at the highest level though and with Nico Pieres and England captain James Beim in Scone shirts, they definitely warrant being on anyone’s shortlist.

The Queen’s Cup will kick off on Tuesday 21 May and will run through Sunday June 16. Full schedule will be published by Pololine later this week.

GROUP 1:

La Indiana: Michael Bickford 1, Jimbo Fewster 3, Rodrigo Andrade 8, Facundo Pieres 10. Total: 22.

Murus Sanctus: Corinne Ricard 0, Facundo Sola 7, Gonzalo Pieres 9, Tommy Beresford 6. Total: 22.

Emlor: Spencer McCarthy 0, Alfredo Bigatti 7, Tincho Merlos 8, Fred Mannix 7. Total: 22.

Scone Polo: David Paradice 0, James Beim 7, Nico Pieres 9, James Harper 6. Total: 22.

Dubai: Camilo Castagnola 5, Rashid Albwardy 1, Bartolome Castagnola 6, Nachi du Plessis 8. Total: 22.

VS King Power: Top Srivaddhanaprabha 0, Juan Martin Zubía 6, Polito Pieres 9, Marcos di Paola 7. Total: 22.

GROUP 2:

Park Place: Andrey Borodin 0, Juan Britos 7, Hilario Ulloa 10 Byron Watson 5. Total: 22.

UAE: Lukitas Monteverde 2, Sapo Caset 9, Santiago Toccalino 7, Tom Brodie 3. Total: 21.

La Bamba De Areco: Jean-François Decaux 0, Kian Hall 3, Pelon Stirling 9, Juan Martin Nero 10. Total: 22.

Casa La Vista Ibiza: Pablo MacDonough 10, Isidro Strada 6, Mín Podestá 6, Hilali Noordeen 0. Total: 22.

Monterosso: Alessandro Bazzoni 0, Juan Gris Zavaleta 7, Cubi Toccalino 8, Joaquin Pittaluga 7. Total: 22.

Talandracas: Hugues Carmignac 0, Fran Elizalde 8, Julian de Lusarreta 7, Alejandro Muzzio 7. Total: 22.