Dubai and UAE were victorious in the opening day of the British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup, that took place at Cowdray Park Polo Club, in Midhurst, West Sussex, on Tuesday June 24. The highlight of the season in England and one of the three Grand Slams of Polo, alongside the Argentine Open and the US Open, sees eighteen teams up to 24 goals, partake.
In the first match of the day, Dubai claimed a narrow 10-9 win over King Power MB. The Thai-based foursome remained in the lead in the two first chukkas, until Dubai were able to make a comeback in the third chukka. From then onwards, it was a very hard fought game, and at the end of the day, luck was on Dubai’s side, who not only won the contest but also, the trophy of the day, the Carlos Gracida Memorial Trophy. It’s worth to notice that both lineup featured changes – Dubai’s Rashid Albwardy was subbed in by Alfie Hyde, while Prince Mateen Bolkiah filled in for Top Srivaddhanaprabha, in King Power MB.
Up next, UAE defeated Park Place, the recent winners of the Queen’s Cup, by the same score. Park Place’s Andrey Borodin was replaced by Matías Maldonado.
THE TOURNAMENT IS STREAMED LIVE THROUGH COWDRAY TV WITH THE PRODUCTION OF POLOLINE TV HERE.
The British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup will resume as follows:
- Wednesday June 25
11,30am: La Magdeleine vs. Gaston
12pm: La Dolfina Scone vs. Signet Thai Polo
4,30pm: White Crane vs. Calatagan
- Thursday June 26
12pm: Kazak vs. Sujan Indian Tigers
3pm: La Dolfina Marqués de Riscal vs. Ferne Park
(UK times)
The championship match of the British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup is due on Sunday July 20.
The tournament was established in 1956 by Weetman John Churchill Pearson, Third Viscount Cowdray and the man behind the revival of polo in England after the devastating Second World War, is most significant contest of the competitive English season. Thoroghout the years, the British Open saw a large number of stars of the sport in participation, and several had lifted the coveted golden trophy. This significant achievement has been shared by fathers, children and grandchildren on several occasions. The first lineup to claim the British Open, back in 1956, was an Argentine lineup, Los Indios, made of Jorge Marín Moreno, Pablo Nagore, Antonio Heguy and Juan Echeverz. Antonio Heguy was the first member of the legendary great family of polo who won the British Open, and his legacy continued with his grandsons – the first to make it were Eduardo and Ignacio Heguy, in 1996, with CS Brooks; then, Bautista Heguy, with Geebung (2000), in a foursome that saw him playing together with no less than Adolfo Cambiaso. The last member of the Heguy family to claim the British Open was Marcos Heguy, in 2004, with Azzurra.
More info and data about those who made history at Cowdray Park HERE.
British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup – Teams & Fixture
Cover photo by Mark Beaumont.