NEWS

Story courtesy of the International Polo Club Palm Beach

After securing quarterfinal victories in the 2020 USPA Gold Cup® in March of 2020, Daily Racing Form, Las Monjitas, La Indiana and Pilot would never have imagined that they would need to wait 332 days to compete in the semifinals. Postponed on March 17, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 GAUNTLET OF POLO® was abruptly suspended, leaving the semifinalists with just two games away from determining the champion. Rescheduled in 2021, the semifinals feature the same four teams, yet only Daily Racing Form returns with the original 2020 lineup. As the teams gear up for a competitive day of play on February 10, 2021, the finalists will be determined at the International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC) in Wellington, Florida.

Fighting their way into the semifinals, Daily Racing Form (Constancio ‘Costi’ Caset*, Agustin Obregon, Jared Zenni*, Tommy Collingwood) faced the most adversity in 2020 of the remaining teams, losing their two opening games to La Indiana and Santa Clara, leaving no room for error. Capturing a crucial overtime victory over Postage Stamp Farm, Daily Racing Form set up a rematch with Santa Clara and emerged with a memorable 10-9 victory thanks to the six-goal, two-assist performance from Zenni. A well-rounded lineup of two 5-goalers and two 6-goalers, Daily Racing Form displayed a quick passing game, moving the ball via the pass rather than individual runs. Assisting on 60% of their field goals, Daily Racing Form enters 2021 with the same lineup that saw Zenni lead the way with 4.3 goals per game, followed by Obregon with 2.3 goals per game. The emergence of Caset at the 18-goal level for Palm Beach Equine, where he led all players in scoring in the Ylvisaker Cup, will be needed to challenge a new Las Monjitas team. Defensively, Collingwood was the steady presence for Daily Racing Form with consistent backhands to start the attack downfield.

One of the more intriguing storylines entering the semifinals is Las Monjitas, who won the first leg of the GAUNTLET OF POLO®, the C.V. Whitney Cup® in 2020 and began the season with a six-game undefeated streak thanks to the play of Pelon Stirling and Francisco Elizalde. However in 2021, Las Monjitas (Melissa Ganzi, Marc Ganzi, Pablo MacDonough, Juan Martin Nero) will feature an entirely new lineup consisting of two 10-goalers in MacDonough and Nero. Familiarity will not be an issue with the duo having extensive experience playing together on La Dolfina in Argentina for the past decade and winning consistently on the global stage. Last seen at IPC capturing the U.S. Open Polo Championship® in 2016 with Orchard Hill, Nero is the consummate number four that will give Las Monjitas an added factor defensively, allowing MacDonough to play the end-to-end style of play that will pressure Daily Racing Form in their semifinal matchup. Joining the duo is Melissa and Marc Ganzi, who have consistently played at the highest levels of polo in the U.S., captaining the Audi and Flexjet teams at IPC in 2018.

The second semifinal provides a close comparison to 2020, with both Pilot (Curtis Pilot, Keko Magrini*, Gonzalito Pieres, Facundo Pieres) and La Indiana (Michael Bickford, Nico Escobar*, Polito Pieres, Jeff Hall, Juan Cruz Marcos) substituting just one player due to handicap increases. Capturing the inaugural GAUNTLET OF POLO® in 2019 by winning the C.V. Whitney Cup, USPA Gold Cup® and CaptiveOne U.S. Open Polo Championship®, Pilot provides one of the most formidable duos in polo in brothers Facundo and Gonzalito Pieres. The only undefeated team in the 2020 USPA Gold Cup®, Pilot led all teams with 8.5 field goals per game, playing an effective two-man game that saw the duo combine for an impressive 10.0 goals per game from the field and penalty line. Curtis Pilot works tirelessly in the number one position and with the addition of Magrini, who is coming off a strong showing with Santa Clara and was named Most Valuable Player of the Joe Barry Cup Final, Pilot looks as dominant as ever. However they face a La Indiana team that ended their 18-game GAUNTLET OF POLO® win streak in the 2020 C.V. Whitney Cup®.

Replacing Santiago Gomez Romero with Escobar, La Indiana enters the semifinal with a similar lineup, led by 10-goaler Polito Pieres, who was first among all players with 6.8 goals per game and fifth in assists before play was postponed. With the steady experience of Hall and Bickford off the ball, Pieres attacked relentlessly to draw the attention of opponents, providing the high-powered semifinal with the three Pieres’. Adding Escobar to the mix who has proven to be a capable scorer at the front of the game, La Indiana has the ability to match the offense of Pilot in a must-see semifinal.

On Wednesday, February 10, Daily Racing Form defeated Las Monjitas 12-11 in the first semifinal of the day. La Indiana will face Pilot in the second semifinal at 3:00pm ET. The winners of the semifinals will advance to the 2020 USPA Gold Cup® Final on Sunday, February 14 at 3:00pm ET. Polo matches at IPC are not open to the general public except for ticketed Sunday brunch. All games will be livestreamed exclusively on Global Polo TV with a subscription needed to watch the final.

*Keko Magrini and Nico Escobar are Active Team USPA Members and Constancio ‘Costi’ Caset and Jared Zenni are Graduating Team USPA Members. Team USPA is a USPA program designed to enhance and grow the sport of polo in the United States by identifying young, talented American players and providing mentored training and playing opportunities leading to a pool of higher rated amateur and pro players and the resultant giveback to the sport of polo.