MIAMI BEACH, November 18, 2024---Beach Club rallied in the second half to capture the World Polo League Beach Polo World Cup Sunday at windswept Collins Park.
By Sharon Robb
Photos by Candace Ferreira
Beach Club (Melissa Ganzi, Nic Roldan, 9, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7) defeated Blackfin (Grant Ganzi, 3, Pierre Henri Ngoumou, 7, Mariano Gracida, 5) in the final minute for a thrilling 7-6 victory in front of a good crowd.
Argentine Alejandro Novillo Astrada, outstanding on defense throughout the three-day tournament, was named Most Valuable Player.
"It was a very good game," Astrada said. "They started very well, very strong. They controlled the game the first two chukkers. Then I think we had a bit of luck, played well and before you know it we were tied and at that point it was anyone's game.
"I thought we had a very good chance," Astrada said. "Nic is a very good player and Melissa and I have been playing together a lot and we know each other. Of course, I saw the other teams and thought they were all very difficult teams, but I thought we had a chance."
Blackfin took control of the game early with leads of 2-1, 3-1, 4-1 and 5-2, before Beach Club took advantage of Blackfin penalties in the third chukker. Roldan converted two 15-yard penalties in the third chukker to trail, 5-3, going into the final chukker.
Roldan converted a 25-yard safety to trail by one, 5-4, early in the fourth chukker. Another 25-yard conversion by Roldan tied the game at 5-5 with 5:02 left.
A minute later, Beach Club took the lead, 6-5, for the first time with Roldan's goal from the field. Ganzi's 15-yard penalty conversion tied the game at 6-6 with 3:04 left. Both teams had scoring opportunities in the final four minutes. It wasn't until the final 49 seconds when Blackfin was called for a right of way penalty and Roldan converted an open goal 15-yard penalty to clinch the win.
"It's always a little fun and it's easy to play when you know each other," said Astrada, who has played with Ganzi and Roldan numerous times. "I think that helped. We know how it is to play in the arena. It's fun. It's a different strategy and way of playing. We have played in Aspen, Miami Beach and Romania. The whole Miami Beach setting was an extra motivation. It's a great venue."
Roldan finished with a game-high six goals, including four penalty conversions. Ngoumou finished with three goals, Ganzi had two and Gracida added one.
In the fourth and final game of the day for third and fourth place in the World Polo League Beach Polo World Cup, The Setai (Tito Gaudenzi, 3, Pablo Dorignc, 7, Juan Bollini, 4) defeated Ketel One (Joaquin Castellvi, 2, Manuel Lopez, 4, Tomacho Pieres, 7), 5-3, for the Casablanca Trophy.
In the Grand Champions Polo Club Cup final, Delta/Lat Am (Rebecca Cohen, 0, Pablo Dorignac, 7, Juan Bollini, 4) knocked off GB/Blade (Teo Calle, 2, Tony Calle, 4, Mariano Gracida, 5), 6-3. Bollini was MVP. For third and fourth place, WPL (Eliza Limehouse, 0, Brad Limehouse, 3, Jason Crowder, 7)defeated St. Moritz (Phil Gutman, Grant Ganzi, 3, Pierre Henri Ngoumou, 7) 4-2. Grant Ganzi was awarded MVP for competing at both levels of the tournament.
The WPL Cup Best Playing Pony was 9-year-old bay mare China Clay, played by Mariano Gracida. The American Polo Horse Association Best Playing Pony was 13-year-old bay mare Onyx, played by Grant Ganzi. The Grand Champions Polo Club Cup Best Playing Pony was Mr. Goodbar, played by Gracida. All three horses are bred and owned by Wellington-based Santa Rita Polo Farm.
In Saturday's Charity Cup, the Polo Hall of Fame Museum (Cindy Prado, Xavien Howard, Tito Gaudenzi) edged The Polo Training Foundation (Sterling Jones, Miles Rich, Juan Bollini), 3-2.
Last year, Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, 3, Juancito Bollini, 4, Nic Roldan, 9) defeated Richard Mille (Santos Bollini, 2, Agustin Arellano, 3, Pablo MacDonough, 10), 11-7.5 and finished undefeated to win the tournament. Roldan was MVP.
The Boca Raton Resort, two years ahead of its 100th anniversary, will debut its new $120 million Beach Club in December. The resort, made up of five hotels, has been a staple of Boca Raton since 1926. The property sprawls across East Camino Real and South Federal Highway, facing Lake Boca and the Atlantic Ocean.
"Beach Club has long been recognized as one of the most coveted beachside resort destinations in South Florida, and this evolution is poised to captivate a whole new category of discerning travelers while appealing to our legacy guests," said Daniel A. Hostettler, president and CEO of The Boca Raton Resort, who got the chance to put on a polo jersey and boots and tried out a polo pony before the game.
The world's largest beach polo tournament celebrating its 19th anniversary featured a record 12 teams including the WPL Polo Pride game, making its beach debut on Thursday which the WPL (Sterling Jones, Talbot Logan, Vinny Sangaline) won, 8-7, over Avatar Financial (Jason Mohr, Jonathan Hayes, Ryan Cronin).
Swiss polo visionary Reto Gaudenzi, the founder of the Snow Polo World Cup in St. Moritz and several other tournaments, created the Beach Polo World Cup in 2005, one year after beach polo was introduced in Dubai, and hosted the South Beach event through 2008.
"Beach polo is fun, I really like it," Astrada said. "Playing on grass you are away from the crowd and you don't hear them much. But here the people get really intense with the game. You have the people on the beach, they come from the sea to watch you and you can here them scream when something happens."