In the opening game of the day, Fred Mannix, Jr. scored the tying goal in regulation time and came back in overtime to notch the winner on the opening play of the overtime period to lead the Hawks (2-0) to a come-from-behind win over Bendabout in Gold Cup play in the morning contest. 

The steadily improving Bendabout/Wanderers lineup received two goals by handicap and quickly built a humble 7-6 halftime lead in a contest that both teams struggled to control. 

Bendabout continued to lead with a 9-7 edge after four chukkers and an 11-10 advantage after five, but that was when everything changed.  Fred Mannix, Jr. came alive in the second half of play, and in particular in the final chukker of regulation play.  He scored three of his game-high seven goals in the sixth period to force an overtime chukker. 

On the first play of the sudden-death period, Fred Mannix, Jr, took a pass from 10-goaler Mariano Aguerre and raced over 150 yards to score the winning goal.  The victory gives the Hawks a 2-0 record and puts them in a great position to try and grab a spot in next week’s Gold Cup semifinals. 

ORCHARD HILL 11, PIAGET 10

Orchard Hill 10-goaler Pablo MacDonough scored seven goals Thursday afternoon, but none was more important than his game-high seventh as his tie breaking penalty conversion lifted his team to an 11-10 win over Piaget with forty-eight seconds left on the clock.

 In a see-saw battle that kept Orchard Hill (2-0) undefeated and Piaget (0-2) winless, the teams battled to a 6-6 halftime score before the Orchard Hill attack seemed to take control.  Goals from MacDonough and Lucas Criado gave Orchard an 8-7 lead after the fourth, holding Piaget to a single penalty conversion from Juan Bollini. 

Orchard Hill extended the lead to 10-8 after five before Piaget rushed back in the sixth and final chukker.  Two goals from Bollini (one from the field and one by penalty shot) evened it at 10-10 with both teams scrambling for the deciding goal.  Hector Galindo carried the ball toward the Piaget goal with less than a minute left to play when he was fouled.  MacDonough converted the penalty shot with fort-eight seconds left to play for the 11-10 win.

LAS MONJITAS 13, PONY EXPRESS 11

 In the day’s finale, Negro Astrada scored three of his team high six goals in the final chukker Thursday afternoon to lead his Las Monjitas (2-0) team to an exciting 13-11 win over Pony Express (0-2) in 2010 USPA Piaget Gold Cup competition

Pony Express held a 10-9 lead going into the final chukker of play, but had the game taken away from them in the final seven minutes of play as Negro Astrada took control of the game.  Two goals from the field and a game-winning penalty conversion game him five goals on the day, with brother Eduardo Astrada adding six goals and brother Javier chipping in two in the win.

The neck-and-neck game was tied on five different occasions, as Las Monjitas rode out to a 6-5 halftime lead.  The victory gives Las Monjitas a 2-0 record and an opportunity to make it into next week’s semifinals depending on the outcome of the weekend matches.  Pony Express is out of competition for the Gold Cup with an 0-2 record. 

Piaget Gold Cup play will continue on Saturday, March, 13 with matches at 1 pm (Lechuza vs. Crab Orchard) and 3 pm (Audi vs. Valiente).

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Ten-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso scored the first goal of the game as Crab Orchard led the match from start to finish as Cambiaso and company continued its domination of the other teams competing in this year’s Gold Cup.

Arellano converted a penalty goal for Crab Orchard’s second goal of the game before Valiente snuck one through the goal posts on a well-orchestrated play by Magoo Laprida.  As the chukker ended, Crab Orchard held on to a narrow 2-1 lead.

“Things have been going well for us all season,” said Arellano.  “When you play with Adolfo (Cambiaso), he attracts so much attention from the opposing team that you have extra time to make plays yourself.”

 Arellano converted another penalty shot for a goal and Hilario Ulloa scored a goal from the field in the second period.  Nacho Astrada scored on two penalty shots for Valiente but trailed 4-3 as the chukker ended with the high-scoring Crab Orchard attack (18 goals in its last game) being held in relative check by the defensive-minded Valiente team.

 It was Arellano who scored two more goals for Crab Orchard in the third while Valiente was held to a single goal from the field from Nacho Astrada, and the first half ended with Crab Orchard ahead, 6-4. 

“They’re a very good team,” said Arellano, “and we didn’t take anything for granted.  They stayed close enough for us to keep playing our game.” 

Fourth chukker goals from Laprida and Nacho Astrada were countered by single goals from Ulloa and Arellano, and the two-goal lead remained in place with Crab orchard on top, 8-6. 

Cambiaso converted a penalty shot for a goal in the fifth and Ulloa scored his third goal of the game while holding Valiente scoreless, and Crab Orchard took a 10-6 lead into the final chukker of the game.

Valiente continued to press its attack as Crab Orchard countered their each and every play.  Miserly defense was fortified by well0-placed backhanders and well coordinated teamwork as the seconds continued to run out for Valiente. 

A final penalty goal was scored by Nacho Astrada just before the bell sounded and Crab Orchard left the field with a 10-7 victory.

 Arellano led the Crab Orchard offense with five goals on the day while Ulloa scored three times and Cambiaso accounted for a pair of goals in the win.

Valiente’s Nacho Astrada scored five goals in the match.  Teammate, Magoo Laprida, added two goals in the effort.

LECHUZA CARACAS 7, AUDI 6

In Wednesday morning’s contest Lechuza Caracas (2-0) handed Audi (0-2) its second consecutive loss of the 2010 Gold Cup in a low-scoring 7-6 contest that was tied through much of the game.

Each team managed just a single goal per chukker through the first five chukkers of play.   With the game all even at 5-5 going into the final period, Santiago Toccalino scored his third goal of the game to give Lechuza a 6-5 lead.  Moments later Facundo Pieres tied it up again for Audi on a penalty shot, and the scoring pattern seemed destined to continue.

An Audi foul in their own goal mouth gave Lechuza a scoring opportunity, and Sapo Caset converted the shot for the go-ahead goal.  Audi continued to press the Lechuza defense in an effort to score when a Lechuza player committed a foul. With less than a minute left to play, Audi 10-goaler Facundo Pieres lined up to take the twenty-yard shot at goal and miss-hit the ball.  Lechuza knocked the ball into play and ran out the clock for the final 7-6 win.

Audi is scheduled to return to the field on Saturday afternoon in a 3 pm contest.

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Linda Alessandro is the founder of Body Wellness® Programs & Services, a non-profit organization, a company providing over 175 different onsite corporate wellness programs to government agencies, Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 Organizations.  During the class Linda will be sharing her stress management program, known today as SLOWO®: The Mental Interface® Technique.  During the class lecture lunch will be served and will end with simple but powerful techniques to help manage stress and help bring balance and harmony to our daily lives. Class fee $20.00

Wednesday  March 17^th, 2010
7^th Chukker – 12:00 to 2:00pm

Please RSVP by March 15^th: 561-204-5687 Ext. 116

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CHOMBA

sex: mare

color: Liver Chestnut

Age: 8 yrs old

This very athletic polo pony is from Argentina and belongs to 10-goaler Mariano Aguerre. Chomba won Best Playing Pony at both the 2008 and 2009 Mercedes-Benz Cup in the Hamptons. Aguerre played on the winning team (La Dolfina) in the 2009 Argentina Open – making it his 17^th Arg. Open played, and 8^th time to win it.

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Piaget, returning a team to the high-goal competition for the first time in over 25 years came up short as a well-coordinated Hawk attack seemed to score at will throughout the six chukker contest.

Piaget received one goal by handicap in the prestigious tournament sponsored by the Swill watchmaker, but struggled to get any offense going, as the Hawks charged out to a comfortable 8-4 halftime lead with team captain Freddy Mannix scoring five of the goals himself.

“They’re a very well polished team,” offered Piaget 9-goaler Nick Roldan, “and we just couldn’t get anything to click for us today.”

Ten-goaler Mariano Aguerre orchestrated the Hawks’ attack, scoring four times himself in the lopsided bout as every member of the Hawk’s lineup got on the scoreboard.

The Hawks shut out Piaget in the fourth chukker while getting single goals from Aguerre and Freddy Mannix.  Piaget was held to a single goal on a penalty conversion from Castagnola, as the Hawk’s attack continued.  Julian Mannix and Aguerre each added a pair of goals as the Hawks left the field after five chukkers on the winning end of a 14-5 score.

The Hawks continued its assault on the Piaget goal in the final chukker.  Goals from Julian Mannix and Pancho Bensadon gave the Hawks a 16-5 advantage with Piaget’s Lolo Castagnola scoring the last two goals of the match for the final 16-7 score.

Eighteen-year-old Julian Mannix scored three goals on the day and was named MVP, Mariano Aguerre’s eight-year-old Chestnut Argentine gelding received Best Playing Pony honors.

LAS MONJITAS 12, BENDABOUT/WANDERERS 10

In earlier Piaget Gold Cup action, Las Monjitas (1-0) scored a 12-10 win over the Bendabout/Wanders (0-1) entry in the 2010 USPA Piaget Gold Cup with Argentine 9-goaler Javier Novillo Astrada scoring five goals in the winning effort.

With Las Monjitas team captain Camilo Bautista still sidelined with a back injury, the Astrada brothers (Eduardo, Javier and Alejandro) took the field with fourteen-year-old Geronimo Obregon.

The twenty-four-goal Bendabout team received two goals by handicap to start the game, but it served as little deterrence to Las Monjitas as 10-goaler Eduardo Astrada quickly evened the score with a pair of goals from the field.

Penalty goals from Bendabout’s Jeff Hall and 9-goaler Mike Azzaro were answered by a single goal from Javier Astrada, and Bendabout held on to a narrow 4-3 lead after two periods of play.

Las Monjitas took the lead in the third chukker getting a pair of goals from Javier Astrada and a goal from teammate Eduardo Astrada.  Sugar Erskine scored the final goal of the chukker, but Las Monjitas rode off the field with a 6-5 halftime lead.

Goals from Obregon and Javier Astrada in the fourth period put Las Monjitas up, 8-5.   Hall converted a penalty shot for Bendabout, and the chukker ended with Bendabout trailing 8-6.

Bendabout got fifth chukker goals from Erskine, Hall and Azzaro, but a pair of goals from Alejandro “negro” Astrada kept Las Monjitas in the lead by a narrow 10-9 score.

American 9-goaler Mike Azzaro opened up the final chukker with a well-placed goal shot that tied it up at 10-10, but Las Monjitas wasn’t quite through.  A goal from the field by Javier Astrada was followed by a penalty conversion from Alejandro Astrada, and the game was over with Las Monjitas the owners of a 12-10 victory.

USPA Piaget Gold Cup action will continue with two games scheduled for Wednesday at the International Polo Club at 10:30 am, between Lechuza (1-0) and Audi (0-1); followed by a 3 pm contest featuring Valiente (0-1) and Crab Orchard (1-0).

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Crab Orchard 8-goaler Hilario Ulloa scored the first two goals of the game before Audi responded with goals from Facundo and Gonzalito Pieres to tie it at 2-2.  Cambiaso and Julio Arellano each added a goal to end the first chukker with Crab Orchard holding a 4-2 lead.

A new Audi team took the field in the second chukker, scoring five times while holding Crab Orchard to single goals from Ulloa and Arellano.  Facundo Pieres scored three goals for Audi, Marc Ganzi and Gonzalo Pieres each added a goal.  Audi left the field with a 7-6 advantage.

Foul trouble gave Arellano and Cambiaso opportunities to cash in, and each of them did, Cambiaso added two more from the field.  Audi was held to a single penalty goal from Facundo Pieres and a high-scoring first half ended with Crab Orchard on top of a 10-8 score.

“We tried to put it away in the fourth chukker,” admitted Cambiaso after the game, “but we couldn’t,” and the game wore on.

The fast pace increased as the game wore on, and Audi got another goal from team captain Ganzi while Facundo Pieres added two more.  Arellano accounted for the only Crab Orchard goal on a penalty conversion and the teams were all even after four chukkers at 11-11.

But just when it looked to be a classic battle to the end, Cambiaso and Crab Orchard took over.  Two penalty conversions by Cambiaso were followed by a goal from the field from Arellano while Audi struggled to find the goal.  Crab Orchard took a 14-11 lead into the last chukker and proceeded humiliate the Audi team. 

Cambiaso added three more goals from the field with Arellano converting his fourth penalty shot of the day.  A frustrated Audi team that played so well for most of the game left the field disheartened.  Crab Orchard was elated with the 18-11 win.

Crab Orchard rebounded from the 11-11 tie to score seven unanswered goals for the win, with Cambiaso accounting for five of them, and leading the field with nine goals on the day.

ORCHARD HILL 11, PONY EXPRESS 10

Bautista Heguy scored nine times for Pony Express, but it was a three goal chukker and a last second score by Lucas Criado that lifted Orchard Hill to an 11-10 win over a Pony Express team in the day’s second game of the Piaget Gold Cup.

After a 5-5 halftime tie, Pony Express fought its way back into the game with Bautista Heguy scoring five goals in the course of the fourth and fifth chukkers to take a 108- lead, but Orchard Hill wasn’t out of gas yet.

Showing the character of champions in the sixth and final chukker of play, Orchard Hill relied on shutout defense and single goals from Hector Galindo, 10-goaler Pablo MacDonough to tie it up at 10-10 and a last second scoring drive by Criado to take the game, 11-10.

Heguy led all scorers with nine goals for Pony Express, but it was Criado who delivered the winning goal just seconds before the final horn sounded.

LECHUZA CARACAS 10, VALIENTE 9

Lechuza got off to a good start in the final Gold Cup match of the day, running up a 6-3 halftime score in the opening three chukkers of play before hanging on for the narrow 11-10 win.

Lechuza got goals from every member of the team in the first half of play, and held a 7-4 lead after four chukkers of play when Valiente managed to wake up and play the aggressive brand of polo that carried then into last week’s C. V. Whitney Cup finals.

Single goals from Magoo Laprida, Miguel Astrada and Nacho Astrada had Valiente within a goal of Lechuza after five chukkers, with momentum looking to shift.

Sapo Caset scored twice in the final frame while Valiente got goals from Laprida and Nacho Astrada to stay within striking distance.  A final run at the Lechuza goals went awry when a 100 yard shot at goal from Miguel Astrada went just wide of the goal as the game ended with Lechuza on the winning end of a 1-9 game.

2010 USPA Piaget Gold Cup action will continue on Sunday with a noon match between Las Monjitas and Bendabout/Wanderers followed by the stadium feature match of Piaget vs. the Hawks.

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The 7th Chukker

International Polo Club

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 6:00   p.m.

The Young Guns

This Tuesday we welcome American polo’s own “brat pack”:

Jeff Hall, Kris Kampsen, Brandon Phillips, and Nick Roldan, winners, between them, of nearly every major tournament and polo award in the United States and many abroad.   All superb horsemen and players, their sometimes brash and irreverent style on and off the field has helped rekindle excitement for polo in this country as we follow the rise of these young superstars.

Wine and hors d’oeuvres

Please RSVP 561 282-5333 or rsvp@internationalpoloclub.com

Tuesday, March 16th – Sunny Hale

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“We got off to a slow start this season,” said Las Monjitas 9-goaler Javier Astrada, “but we began playing better and better each week.  I think we played our best game of the year today.”

A slow start had the score tied at 1-1 as both teams struggled to find a rhythm.  Javier Astrada scored two goals from the field in the second chukker with Pablo Pieres converting his second goal of the game.  Zacara was held to goals from Jeff Hall and Toto Collardin, and trailed 4-3.

Three goals from Pieres in the third were answered by Zacara’s two goals from Collardin.  Las Monjitas stretched its lead to two goals, 7-5, to end the first half.

Martin Donovan opened the second half with a goal from the field.  Hall responded for Zacara, but it was Pieres who scored the closing goal of the chukker to put Las Monjitas on top, 9-6.

Las Monjitas stretched the lead to three goals after the fourth and led 11-6 after five chukkers.

“The horses went well,” said Javier, “and the play between the members of the team went perfectly.”

Zacara struggled vainly to get back into the game, but after being shutout in the fifth they could only put three goals on the scoreboard, answering Las Monjitas goal for goal.

Jeff Hall and Gonzalo del Tour scored the last two goals of the contest, but Las Monjitas wasn’t to be denied, as the final horn sounded to a Las Monjitas 14-9 victory.

Pablo Pieres scored eight times in the match and was named MVP.  Javier Astrada’s 8-year-old gelding, Fatiga, received Best Playing Pony Honors.

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MAGNOLIA

Sex: mare

Color:  gray

Age: 8yo

Magnolia is an elegant and fast gray mare ridden by Ignacio “Nacho” Astrada. She has been Nacho’s best mare for the past two years. Nacho competes in high-goal polo in England, Spain, Argentina and the United States.

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