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Two NAPL Teams Headed to Piaget Gold Cup Finals

March 19, 2008

WELLINGTON, FL – Skeeterville will race to the finals of the Piaget Gold Cup on Sunday at 3 p.m. and face Las Monjitas as both won in their respective semifinal tournament rounds today at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. In a surprise upset, Las Monjitas defeated Piaget Gold Cup defending champions Crab Orchard 12-9 in the day’s opening game. Las Monjitas Astrada brothers – Eduardo, Javier and Nacho – scored the final five goals of the game, ensuring a place in Sunday’s finals.

“When we do what we say we’re going to do, we play very well,” said Las Monjitas team captain Camilo Bautista, who says he will now have to rearrange his plans to go back to his native Columbia, which he planned to do later on this week. “It doesn’t matter. I’m pleased to stay through Sunday.” The second game was a real nail-biter with the match tied seven times, but at the end of the day, Skeeterville defeated Black Watch 11-9. Skeeterville was down by one at the end of the fifth chukker, but the team’s Julio Arellano and Adam Snow scored the final and only three goals of the sixth, earning a place in the final round.

“When Julio hit the penalty three in the sixth chucker, I thought we had it,” joked Snow. “There was 50 seconds left and then we fouled. No, I never think we have it! We jumped out on them well and they kind of got control in the middle of the game and then we started playing with more power in the end and I think that’s what probably made the difference.”

In conjunction with the Piaget Gold Cup, another USPA sanctioned tournament, the semifinal round of the Butler Handicap, will be played on Thursday at 3 p.m. between Audi and White Birch. The winner will face Lechuza Caracas in the finals on Sunday at noon prior to the finals of the Piaget Gold Cup. The Butler Family offered this coveted trophy to International Polo Club Palm Beach in honor of Paul Butler whose Oak Brook Polo Club outside Chicago, Illinois provided high goal polo in the fifty’s, sixty’s and seventy’s. This coveted cup was played as a national tournament for 31 years.

This is the second year the Piaget Gold Cup has been played at International Polo Club. The USPA Gold Cup has been played since 1974 and is one of only three polo tournaments rated at 26 goals in the United States. The other two are the C.V. Whitney and the Stanford U.S. Open Polo Championship.

International Polo Club Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South in Wellington and hosts professional polo tournaments until April 20. The premier game of the week is played at 3 PM every Sunday on the Stanford Field and Stadium. Information can be obtained by calling 561-204-5687 or the Polo Hotline for game updates at 561-282-5290.

CRAB ORCHARD 1-1-2-4-1-0=9 (6 penalty goals) Nachi Heguy 5
LAS MONJITAS 1-2-3-0-3-3=12 (2 penalty goals) Eduardo Astrada 5
SKEETERVILLE 3-0-2-2-1-3 = 11 (6 penalty goals) Julio Arellano 7
BLACK WATCH 1 HDCP. + 0-2-2-2-2-0 = 9 (2 penalty goals) Matias MacDonough 8

Click Here for the updated USPA Piaget Gold Cup Roster and Schedule