Aureus and Balanz Capital reached the championship match of the prestigious Queen’s Cup, following two thrilling semifinal matches that took place at Guards Polo Club, in Windsor Great Park, England, on Wednesday June 10. Both teams, who will meet on Sunday June 14 to decide the tournament, played hard foughts contests, with the two of them being decided in extra chukka.
- SEMIFINAL #1 – AUREUS 11-10 LA DOLFINA MARQUÉS DE RISCAL
First up was a fast, flowing game between Aureus and La Dolfina/Marques de Riscal. Mark Tomlinson put Aureus into the lead almost immediately thanks to a Penalty 1. Great team-work from all four Aureus players added another in the second before Felix Esain and Poroto Cambiaso levelled the scores. Teo Lacau closed the chukka with a shot at goal to keep Aureus ahead. The third was all about La Dolfina/Marques de Riscal. Goals from Simon Prado, Alejandro Aznar and Félix Esain gave them a 7-3 lead going into the half-time break. However, if people thought this was the catalyst for La Dolfina/Marques de Riscal to pull away further they were mistaken. Aureus bounced back with goals from Jake Coventry and Mark Tomlinson to closed the gap (7-5). Two successful 30-yard penalty conversionsby Teo Lacau, to only one goal in reply from Cambiaso, meant the score was reading 8-7 in favour of La Dolfina/Marques de Riscal going into the sixth. The packed grandstands were on tenterhooks – was this game going into extra time? Goals from Lacau and Cambiaso maintained the status quo, as did two 30-yard penalty strikes from Lacau and Prado. It was left to Diego Cavanagh, who had delivered a strong game across all six chukkas for Aureus, to find the equaliser with just over a minute of this semi-final remaining. A sudden-death seventh chukka would be needed to separate these two great teams. With just over a minute of the seventh chukka played, Aureus’s number one, Coventry, calmly fired through the winner
- SEMIFINAL #2 – BALANZ CAPITAL 12-11 DUBAI
The second semi-final was equally thrilling. Dubai managed to maintain a narrow lead at half-time (6-5), and later on, with a hat-trick of goals from Barto Castagnola and a goal from Tariq Albwardy in the fourth, with only Ned Hine scoring for Balanz Capital, Dubai headed into the fifth with a more established lead (10-6). That said, Balanz Capital never allowed Dubai to relax and some great team-work from Claudio Porcel’s team kept them in contention. Jeta Castagnola highlighted this in the fifth by firing through two goals to close the gap to just two. So, with all to play for both teams battled hard in a bid to gain supremacy. Unfortunately for Dubai, who were hoping to make Sunday’s final and stay on target to win their seventh Queen’s Cup tournament, it was Balanz Capital that proved more successful. Goals from Hine and Lorenzo Chavanne, to only one in reply from Barto, ensured that extra time was going to be needed to separate these competitive, relentlessly focused teams. With about a minute played of the seventh chukka Balanz Capital were awarded a 30-yard penalty. Chavanne maintained his status as tournament top scorer and fired through his 42nd goal of the competition to secure Balanz Capital their first ever ticket through to Sunday’s Cartier Queen’s Cup.
AUREUS AND BALANZ CAPITAL WILL GO HEAD-TO-HEAD FOR THE QUEEN’S CUP ON SUNDAY JUNE 14.
The Queen’s Cup was established in 1960, in honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on September 8 2022. Her Majesty was not only the longest serving monarch of Great Britain (February 1952-September 2022), but also the second longest in history, behind His Majesty Louis XIV, known as Le Roi Soleil (The Sun King), who ruled France during 72 years (1643 to 1715). Queen Elizabeth II was suceeded by her son, His Majesty King Charles III, who is also the current President of Guards Polo Club, a position he inherited from his father, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who founded the club on January 25 1955 and remained as the President until his passing, on April 9, 2021.
The Queen’s Cup – Teams & Fixture
Cover photo by The Art Of Polo.