WELLINGTON, Fla., April 25, 2024---Three teams will compete for the prestigious Sterling Cup that begins Friday morning at Grand Champions Polo Club.
By Sharon Robb
Action gets under way at 10 a.m. with a preliminary round robin between the Maltese Facons (Melissa Ganzi, 0, Grant Ganzi, 3, Nic Roldan, 8, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7); Audi (Marc Ganzi, 1/Santos Bollini, 2, Tomacho Pieres, 6, Tommy Collingwood, 5, Pablo Spinacci, 6); and Newport (Gene Goldstein, 0, Jason Crowder, 5, Sugar Erskine, 6, Fred Mannix, 7). The scores will carry over to the final on Sunday at 10 a.m. followed by the trophy presentation from Glenn Straub.
The Sun Cup also kicks off on Friday to open the spring schedule at 4:30 p.m. with a two-team round robin. The final is Sunday at 11:15 a.m.
The fourth annual WPL Polo Pride round robin game, highlighted by the debut of 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso, is Saturday at 4:30 p.m. followed by a drag show.
The Sterling Cup was resurrected eight years ago after a 22-year absence. It was brought back by Grand Champions President Melissa Ganzi in hopes of recapturing polo’s glory days.
It was the second tournament of the 22-goal season at the old Palm Beach Polo and Country Club after the January Challenge Cup and last played in 1995. It was considered the 22-goal championship and attracted as many as 18 teams including Saniva B.G.K., Pegasus, C.S. Brook, Grant’s Farm Manor, Revlon, Calumet Farm, Pony Express, Isla Carroll, White Birch and Catamount.
“It’s a great trophy, one of the great 22-goal trophies,” Ganzi said. “When you came here in the early ’90s and 2000s, you wanted to win the Sterling Cup. It was one of the premier 22-goal tournaments before you warmed up for the U.S. Open.”
The 2023 winner was Scone, for the second time in three years. Scone (Sarah Siegel Magness, 0, Cody Ellis, 4, Poroto Cambiaso, 9, Pelon Stirling, 9) led for most of the game for a 13-10 victory over Valiente (Chris Dawson, 0, Paquito de Narvaez, 3, Tomas Panelo, 8, Adolfo Cambiaso, 10). Poroto Cambiaso, then 17, was MVP after scoring seven goals and finishing with 14 for the tournament. It was the fourth time Cambiaso won the tournament.
The Sterling Cup has featured several historical moments including the 2018 Sterling Cup tournament when Adolfo, Mia and Poroto Cambiaso made history by winning their first-ever high goal tournament together. Along with teammate Magoo Laprida, Valiente knocked off pre-tournament favorite Audi, 10-4, in the final. Mia Cambiaso was MVP. The father and son, Adolfo and Poroto, have won the title three times.