Habtoor Polo beat UAE Polo to retain Bentley Emirates Silver Cup crown

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The last piece of the action at the Silver Cup tournament of the Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series showcased a spectacular finish at Al Habtoor Polo Resort and Club.

After a series of qualification matches, four teams met at the anticipated final. Dubai Wolves by CAFU faced Bangash Dodson & Horrell Polo at the Hildon Cup (subsidiary final) and Habtoor Polo met their match — UAE Polo — at the Bentley Emirates Silver Cup final.

Alfredo Cappella opened the afternoon with a penalty shot for the Wolves. The team owned the first chukker as Carlos Ulloa and Capella closed it at 3 goals to 1.5.

The next chukker didn't see much of Bangash Dodson and Horrell as they ended with a significant lead for the Dubai Wolves by CAFU. It was raining goals during the third chukker. Bangash Dodson and Horrell made an aggressive comeback and the Wolves showed an equally strong defensive play.

The Dubai Wolves by CAFU still had their advantage by half-time. The next chukker rolled and Federico von Potobsky stole the lead only to be defended by Ulloa that kept the narrow advantage of a half a goal in favour of the Wolves. It was a fight for the win at the final chukker, with the Wolves giving it their all. However, Benjamin Panelo ensured that the two goals he delivered were enough to earn their claim at the Hildon Cup trophy.

The Silver Cup tournament contenders last year met again at the final.

Mohammed Al Habtoor, Patron of the Habtoor Polo team, nicked the first goal of the game. UAE Polo's Tommy Beresford and Lucas Monteverde Jr ensured the lead was on their side at the end of the first chukker.

Habtoor Polo crept their way back into the scoreboard by halftime and the teams were tied by the end of the penultimate chukker. The determining chukker had spectators witness a notable save

from Matias Gonzales for the Habtoor Polo team and a penalty shot from Bayugar that the opponent couldn't match.

The game ended with a final score of 9 goals to 7 and Habtoor Polo proudly lifted the Silver Cup trophy of the Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series for the second year.

Martin Pedersen, Chairman of International Free Zone Authority presented the trophies for the teams at the Hildon Cup.

The Best Playing Pony was Inunciado ridden by the Most Valuable Player of the tournament — Bautista Bayugar.

Joseph Tayar, General Manager of Bentley Emirates, awarded the teams at the Bentley Emirates Silver Cup final.

Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series was founded in 2009 by Mohammed Al Habtoor, patron of the Habtoor Polo team and Chairman of the UAE Polo Federation DPGC Series started out with one tournament - the Gold Cup (Dubai Open) - and has grown into a series five premier Polo Tournaments in the Middle East - the Silver Cup, Gold Cup, Polo Masters Cup, Dubai Challenge Cup and the Dubai Cup.

The tournaments under the DPGC are recognized by the World Polo Tour (WPT), ranking it among the best polo tournaments worldwide. The Gold Cup is one out of the four tournaments in the world that is played in the WPT Championship Cup category, on a par with world-class events held in Argentina, Spain, United Kingdom and the US.