On Friday March 15, Coca Cola claimed a narrow 14-13 win over Dutta Corp and earned a spot in the semifinals of the USPA Gold Cup, the second leg of The Gauntlet of Polo, the most significant tournament series in the United States, currently underway at the National Polo Center, inWellington, Florida. In addition, Gillian Johnston’s foursome ended the league stage unbeaten, after winning their four games. The tournament sees nine teams up to 22 goals, in participation.
Both teams played a very hard fought match, with Dutta Corp in the lead until the fourth chukka. At the end of the day, Coca Cola managed to bounce back in the two last chukkas and won the match that secured them a ticket to the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Valiente, who will go head-to-head against Park Place on Saturday, has also qualified to semifinals, still unbeaten, with a 3-0 record.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
All teams will play four preliminary matches each. Following the conclusion of preliminary play, all teams will be ranked 1-9. The top four ranked teams will draw for semifinal pairings with the winners of the semifinals advancing to the USPA Gold Cup final. Any ties between teams that played each other will be broken by who-beat-who. All other ties will be broken by a one-player shootout. The Retama Cup will serve as the subsidiary to the USPA Gold Cup. Teams who do not qualify for the semifinals of the USPA Gold Cup will automatically be entered in the Retama Cup.
The final of the USPA Gold Cup is due on Sunday March 24, at the National Polo Center.
USPA GOLD CUP – FRIDAY MARCH 15
COCA COLA 14-13 DUTTA CORP
Coca Cola: Gillian Johnston 0, Kristos Magrini 6, Pablo Pieres 9, Julián de Lusarreta 7*. Total: 22.
*Injured, subbed in by Alfonso Pieres.
Dutta Corp: JoaquÃn Avendaño 4, Mariano Obregón 6, Tomás GarcÃa del RÃo 8, Timmy Dutta 4*. Total: 22.
*Subbed in by Thomas Huber in the first chukka.
Score Coca Cola: 2-2, 2-3, 4-6, 7-9, 12-9, 14-13.
Umpires: Kimo Huddleston & Ronnie Hayes.               Third Man: Horacio Onetto.
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The league stage of the USPA Gold Cup will come to an end on the weekend and the matchups for the semifinals, due on Wednesday March 20, will be set:
Saturday March 16:
11am: Valiente vs. Park Place
Sunday March 17:
3pm: Pilot vs. La Dolfina/Tonkawa
USPA Gold Cup – Teams& Fixture
Cover photo by Agustina Fonda.
2024 THE GAUNTLET OF POLOÂ CALENDAR
CV Whitney Cup: February 9 – 25 (Winner: Valiente)
USPA Gold Cup: February 28 – March 24.
U.S. Open Polo Championship: March 22 – April 21.
Utilizing the same prize money distribution for the 2023 Gauntlet of Polo, the format guarantees a total of $200,000 in prize money. $50,000 will be awarded to each of the winning teams of the C.V. Whitney Cup and USPA Gold Cup. Similarly, $100,000 in prize money will bepresented to the winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship and any team that wins all three tournaments will be crowned the Gauntlet Champion. In keeping with the spirit of philanthropy, U.S. Polo Assn. will provide a $2,500 donation to the winner and runner-up teams of all three finals to be donated to a polo charity of their choice.
All Sunday games are due on the National Polo Center main ground.
Cover photo, by Agustina Fonda.