NEWS

Capping off a spectacular 18-goal season at International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC) in Wellington, Florida, La Fe (Lucas Escobar*, Robi Bilbao, Francisco Elizalde, Louis Devaleix, sub. Nico Diaz Alberdi) and CK Shack (Kristos “Keko” Magrini*, Santino Magrini, Joaquin Panelo, sub. Bautista Panelo) faced-off in front of eager spectators on the U.S. Polo Assn. Stadium Field to battle for the coveted Ylvisaker Cup.

Faced with the adversity of injuries and an ever-changing roster, CK Shack leaned on the firepower of Keko Magrini and distance shooting of Joaquin Panelo to set an early tone and kick-start the scoring. A determined and cohesive La Fe team led by Elizalde fought back, where the neck-in-neck match went down to the final seconds of play. Ultimately CK Shack’s advantage from the penalty line made the difference to hang on to their narrow lead in the dying seconds and hoist the Ylvisaker Cup 12-11.

Fielding their fourth consecutive line-up change in as many games presented a continuous challenge throughout the Ylvisaker Cup for CK Shack, luckily their final roster was composed of familiarity in the brother-duo of Keko and Santino Magrini and cousins Bautista and Joaquin Panelo.

Thankful for the opportunity to play with his cousin and close friends in the Magrini’s, Joaquin Panelo shared, “I grew up with [Bautista] and I’ve played a lot of polo with him. Polo is a very family-orientated sport, the relationship[s] and how we know each other from life, it makes a difference for sure. It’s easy because I knew exactly what he was going to do and he knew what I was going to do, that was very special.” Similarly, Santino stated of his younger brother, “It’s better playing with him than with anyone else.”

A nagging injury to Martin “Facha” Valent in the first game of match-play kept him sidelined for much of the tournament, giving Bautista Panelo the opportunity to step-in for three of CK Shack’s four games, “it’s been [fun]” Panelo said, “playing on this field is amazing.” Previously winning the Ylvisaker Cup with Valiente in 2018, Panelo knew his role stepping into the team would be to, “create space and move forward on the field,” to implement their system as efficiently as possible against a challenging opponent in La Fe.

Facing off in bracket play in the Ylvisaker Cup, La Fe and CK Shack entered the final evenly matched with each team holding a 2-1 record, and La Fe narrowly taking their previous meeting 8-7. Receiving coaching advice on the sidelines from Valent and Matias Magrini, CK Shack relied on their strategy to remain relaxed and keep the ball in constant rotation to meet the challenge of another close match with a familiar foe.

CK Shack was awarded the first scoring opportunity of the match as Joaquin Panelo hit his first Penalty 4 of the day. Taking advantage of La Fe’s early foul troubles, CK Shack was able to dominate in the first chukker on three consecutive goals from the penalty line, switching between Keko Magrini on two undefended Penalty 2’s and another Penalty 4 from Joaquin Panelo, for an early 4-0 lead.

Heating up in the second, La Fe mounted a strong response with Elizalde accounting for three goals, including two from the penalty line and another on a brilliant drive to find the goal. Keko Magrini found his second from the field, but La Fe continued to apply pressure in the third with another successful goal from distance off the mallet of Elizalde, followed by the horsepower of Bilbao on a breakaway to take a 5-all tie into halftime.

Reflecting on the sudden offensive explosiveness of La Fe in the second and third chukkers, Joaquin Panelo expressed, “we started off hungry [but] when you’re up, [you] mentally start to relax. They needed to do something, and they were coming strong. Sometimes going up by so many, it’s difficult to keep your head.”

Emerging from the break, a thundering Keko Magrini hit the goal to pull CK Shack back into the game for their first scoring drive since the second chukker. Keeping the game tight, Elizalde answered immediately for La Fe on back-to-back goals, while Keko Magrini bookended the chukker from the field to re-tie the game 7-all.

Generating positive field position on their knock-ins throughout the day, Bilbao was able to retake the lead for La Fe on a nearside neckshot in traffic. Just as momentum began to swing towards a driving La Fe, foul troubles emerged once more, sending Keko Magrini to the penalty line twice, while Santino Magrini scored his first of the day to take a tight 10-8 lead for CK Shack into the final chukker of play.

With La Fe back in striking distance, Joaquin Panelo stressed the importance of a short memory in competition, “I try to forget whatever mistake was made, or you’re going to go into the next play with your head low. We need[ed] to forget about the mistakes and get back to playing.” Seemingly destined for overtime, Robi Bilbao had one final chance for La Fe in the final seconds of play but the shot rolled wide allowing CK Shack to hang on 12-11, and claim the Ylvisaker Cup for the first time.

“La Fe is tough, we managed to keep our system, our rhythm, we [had to] stay in there and keep fighting,” said Joaquin Panelo. We’re a strong four-man team with great horses, we never thought an [individual] was better than the rest. We’re all on the same page an [it’s] hard to beat [us] when you’re a team like that.” Ecstatic with his team's victory Santino Magrini shared, “[it’s] a big tournament and a great start to [the high-goal] season, I hope to keep it up.”

Relying on the strong play of family and friends enabled CK Shack to emerge victorious despite the unique circumstances of playing without a team owner on the field. “It’s different,” said Joaquin Panelo, “the pressure is always there, they’re not with you but watching everything you do from the outside, which is a [new] perspective.” Keko Magrini also compared playing on CK Shack without an actively playing team owner to an Argentine style of polo where, “everybody plays for fun and for the sport.”

Leading his team with nine goals on the day for an impressive total of thirty overall in the Ylvisaker Cup, Keko Magrini was named Most Valuable Player. Playing with Aspen Polo in 2021, Magrini reflected, “I played last year and [now] this year I was able to win. The four of us are friends, we tried to hit the ball and have fun.”

Best Playing Pony was awarded to Dolfina Mayor (Durazno x Nona), an 11-year-old Argentine bay mare played and owned by Francisco Elizalde. Showing a preference for Dolfina Mayor in high-goal polo, Elizalde played her in the first, fourth and sixth chukkers to take advantage of her strong attributes including her power. “The way she can turn is amazing, she’s really fast and never gets tired,” Elizalde noted.

Action at IPC quickly turns to the GAUNTLET OF POLO®’s first leg of play in the C.V. Whitney Cup® with Keko Magrini teaming up with the father-son duo of Adolfo Cambiaso and Porto Cambiaso for Scone, while Lucas Escobar will be joining SD Farms, and the remaining members of La Fe will return to play once more with Lucas Diaz Alberdi.

*Lucas Escobar and Kristos ‘Keko’ Magrini are Active 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.

All photos courtesy of ©David Lominska.