Following the last matchdate of the Torneo Clasificatorio por las Copas Remonta & Veterinaria (Qualification Tournament), La Irenita and La Z Kazak will be able to play the 86th. Tortugas Open and the 133rd. Argentine Polo Open. Both teams were the league winners after defeating Velay and La Dolfina II, respectively, in the matches that took place on Friday October 2, at the Argentine Association of Polo Headquarters, in Pilar.
The two contest were very similar – hard fought and balanced, and it was clear enough that they could have been decided in extra chukka, but it didn’t happen.
La Irenita and Velay opened fire; after two very even first chukkas, Matías McDonough Jr (a/k/a Vizcacha) delivered an impressive performance especially in the third chukka when La Irenita reached a 6-3 lead. However, Velay was far from giving up, and led by Facundo Sola, they managed to close the gap to one goal (5-6), and their had their momentum in the fifth chukka, when they outscored La Irenita 3-1. The last goal was a superb neckshot by Alfredo Cappella to tie at 8-all. La Irenita bounced back in the sixth and Pablo MacDonough and Polito Pieres scored two crucial goals that gave them a 12-9 lead. And in the last chukka, it were the young guns, Paco de Narvaez and Vizcacha MacDonough who sealed the deal – Velay kept fighting, but at the end of the day, it was La Irenita who claimed the 14-12 win and the first ticket to Tortugas and Palermo.
Later in the afternoon, it was time for La Z Kazak and La Dolfina II. It’s worth noticing that La Z Kazak already qualified twice to play the Argentine Open, 2024 and 2025. Last year, they lost to La Aguada Don Ercole, in the playoff.
The first chukka was scoreless, and it was Peke González who produced the first goal in the second; La Z Kazak replied quickly. Nico Pieres found the flags twice, to have La Z Kazak 2-1 ahead. Following goals for La Dolfina II, courtesy of Lucas Criado Jr. and Peke Gonzalez, Sapo Caset scored to tie at 3-all by the end of the second chukka. In the third, La Z Kazak delivered a great performance and widened their advantage to 6-3, but La Dolfina II had a lethal weapon named Lucas Criado Jr., whose 100% accuracy to convert penalties closed the gap to just one goal. This continued in the fourth chukka, when La Dolfina II claimed the lead, 7-9. But La Z Kazak made a comeback in the two following chukkas – halfway in the sixth chukka, Nico Pieres scored and the scoreboard read a 10-10, and the rest went to Lorenzo Chavanne’s and Beltrán Lauhle’s hands; La Z Kazak were now 12-10 up. Lucas Criado Jr. came up in the last second in that chukka, converted a penalty from the spot, and with one chukka to go, things were 12-11 for La Z Kazak. Definelty, a hotter than hell match that could be easily decided in extra chukka.
But no need to – although La Dolfina II presented battle to the end, luck was on La Z Kazak’s side – they won by a narrow 14-13 and earned the second spot to play the Tortugas Open (for the first time) and the Argentine Open.
With La Irenita and La Z Kazak already on board, the leagues for the 86th. Tortugas Open and the 133rd. Argentine Open are set as follows:
- 86th. TORTUGAS OPEN
LEAGUE A: Winner Hurlingham Open, Loser semifinal Hurlingham Open, La Ensenada, Don Ercole, La Z Kazak.
LEAGUE B: Runner up Hurlingham Open, Runner up Hurlingham Open, Hiper Polo, La Aguada, La Irenita.
- 133rd. ARGENTINE OPEN
LEAGUE A: La Natividad La Dolfina, La Hache, La Ensenada, Don Ercole La Irenita.
LEAGUE B: Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu, Las Monjitas, Hiper, La Aguada, La Z Kazak.
Cover photo by Agustina Fonda.