WELLINGTON, Fla., April 5, 2024---The Triple Crown of Polo, the crown jewel and fourth tournament of the 2024 World Polo League winter season, begins Saturday at Grand Champions Polo Club.
By Sharon Robb
The much-anticipated 26-goal tournament has attracted eight teams for the two-week tournament.
The Triple Crown of Polo kicks off with a doubleheader on Saturday. Alegria plays Park Place at 11 a.m. followed by Senvest against Travieso at 1 p.m. The season-finale championship final is Saturday, April 20 at 4 p.m.
Team rosters and sponsors are:
BRACKET ONE:
Casablanca (26) Grant Ganzi, 3, Rufino Bensadon 8, Sapo Caset, 9, Hilario Figueras, 6.
Travieso: Teo Calle, 1, Pipe Vercellino, 7, Nic Roldan, 8, Juan Martin Zubia, 9.
Senvest (22) Rob/Richard Mashaal, 0, Facundo Llosa, 7, Magoo Laprida, 8, Pedro Falabella, 7.
Kaia Polo (22) Larry Austin, 0, Lerin Zubiaurre, 7, Mariano Aguerre, 7, Santi Toccalino, 8.
BRACKET TWO:
Park Place (25) Andrey Borodin, 0, Joaquin Panelo, 6, Juan Britos, 9, Hilario Ulloa, 10.
Alegria (25): Sugar Erskine, 6, Jason Crowder, 5, Tincho Merlos, 7, Fred Mannix, 7.
Maltese Facons (26) Melissa Ganzi, 0, Gonzalito Pieres, 9, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 9, Juan Martin Nero, 10.
Audi (26) Marc Ganzi, 1, Jeta Castagnola, 10, Pablo MacDonough, 10, TBA, 5.
There are two brackets of four playing within. First place of each bracket will play the second place of the opposite bracket for semifinal pairings.
Nic Roldan, the second highest rated American at 8 goals, returns to action after missing the Palm Beach Open with a knee injury. Roldan will join Teo Calle, Pipe Vercellino and Juan Martin Zubia on Travieso.
Four 10-goalers are entered. They are Pablo MacDonough, Jeta Castagnola, Hilario Ulloa and Juan Martin Nero.
In last year's Triple Crown of Polo, Audi (Marc Ganzi, 1, Jeta Castagnola, 10, Gonzalito Pieres, 9, Paco de Narvaez, 6) knocked off defending champion Pampa Norte Biotricity (Waqaas Al-Siddiq, 0, Facundo Llosa, 7, Gringo Colombres, 8, Pedro Falabella, 7), 18-14.
Castagnola was MVP for the second time in two tournament finals. Castagnola scored a game-high 11 goals and finished with 26 for the tournament. Audi finished the tournament undefeated at 5-0. The combined 32 goals broke the previous record of 31 for most goals scored in a single game this season.
The Triple Crown of Polo trophy is comprised of three separate trophies that fit perfectly together to create an entire polo scene that is breathtaking in sterling silver.
The WPL tournament winners will be inscribed on the trophy and added to an impressive list of teams that feature several top players including Sebastian Merlos, Mike Azzaro, Tommy Biddle, Adam Snow, Nic Roldan, Matias Magrini, Jeff Hall, Mariano Gonzalez, Michel Dorignac, Kris Kampsen, Gringo Colombres and Jeta Castagnola.
The Triple Crown of Polo, an ESPN2 television series, was created in 2005 by David McLane, known for Pro Beach Hockey, Women of Wrestling and Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, to help promote polo in the U.S. The show was seen in 129 countries.
The spectacular trophy was created for the event that had stops at the Sarasota Polo Club, Las Colinas Polo Club in Dallas and Santa Barbara Polo Club the first year in 2006 and Sarasota and New Bridge Polo and Country Club in Aiken, South Carolina in 2007 during its heyday before it went on hiatus.
The first three 2024 WPL tournaments during the league's sixth season have thrilled fans, worldwide livestream viewing audiences and sponsors on world-class fields.
The WPL, enjoying its most competitive season with the most parity among teams in league history, has already crowned two champions. On Sunday at 4 p.m., a third will be crowned when defending champion Casablanca plays Travieso in the Palm Beach Open final. The first two winners were:
All-Star Challenge: Audi (Marc Ganzi, 1, Nic Roldan, 8, Jeta Castagnola, 10, Pancho Bensadon, 7).
Founders Cup: Park Place (Andrey Borodin, 0, Toly Ulloa, 8, Hilario Ulloa, 10, Cody Ellis, 5).
The WPL, the winter season's biggest highlight, continues to make history as the only 26-goal polo played outside of Argentina.