The Cartier Queen’s Cup

Two Sets of Brothers in Fraternal Battle for Trophy

Pieres Vs Castagnola in legendary Cartier Queen’s Cup campaign

The zenith of the rearranged UK high goal season did not fail to disappoint in an extra chukka, turbo charged, cliffhanger as two sets of brothers clashed on Sunday 23 August as Les Lions/ Great Oaks took on the might of Park Place for The Cartier Queen’s Cup Trophy. The 60th anniversary of this match was played at Guards Polo Club on the iconic Queen’s Ground behind closed doors due to the pandemic, but was available to view live on Guards TV in collaboration with PolocamTV, therefore opening up the match to those not able watch at the Club. Those viewing from their homes were also joined by Laurent Feniou, Managing Director of Cartier UK, who also could not attend as he was self-isolating at home due to a recent overseas trip, but sent a message to all the teams taking part. “It has been incredible to see such powerful games played by some of the very best polo players in the world, during this year’s Cartier Queen’s Cup, despite the unprecedented turn of events this year. I am truly inspired by the resilience and talent of these wonderful players capturing the true essence and spirit of the sport.”

Despite the lack of spectators, the players certainly did not hold back on performance as both teams fought valiantly from the outset. Park Place were keen to avenge the memory of their Queen’s Cup defeat at the hands of Scone last year and came to the 2020 Final with an impressive undefeated run in the tournament. But what was truly fascinating to see was the fraternal ease

What was truly fascinating to see was the fraternal ease of play between two sets of brothers

Photograph by ©www.imagesofpolo.com Facundo Pieres and Jeta Castagnola fight for possession

Despite the lack of spectators, the players certainly did not hold back on performance as both teams fought valiantly from the outset

of play between two sets of brothers. The powerhouse duo of flamboyant 10 goal Facundo Pieres teamed with his reliable stalwart brother, 9 goal Gonzalito are always a joy to watch, and their huge wealth of experience, teamed with the tsunami of horsepower they bring, should have seen Park Place dominate from the start. But the Pieres duo seemed unsettled from the first throw in, their feathers seemingly ruffled by the relatively ‘new brothers on the block’ in the form of the 17-year-old Jeta Castagnola and his older brother Barto. Maybe this was in part due to Barto being raised from 7 to 8 goals in the mid season handicaps, so the total of the Les Lions/Great Oaks team was actually 23 goals. Yes, Park Place received a one goal advantage to level this out; but at the end of the day, it was still a 22 goal team facing a 23 goal line-up. Could Facundo play better than his 10 goal maximum to level out the disparity? Would he pull out the stops for a 12 goal masterclass of piston pumping polo? Would he and his brother use the experience of a collective nine Queen’s Cup victories between them, to out-manoeuvre their opponents? Time would tell.

The Pieres duo seemed unsettled from the first throw in, their feathers seemingly ruffled

The youthful Castagnola brothers are truly a force to behold, having an ease of placement which sees them seemingly effortlessly pop up in the right place at the right time, a skill that is innate rather than being learnt. Although with Lolo Castagnola, the legendary 10 goal polo master craftsman of our sport as their father, what they have not inherited has certainly been reinforced by a childhood of expert fatherly instruction – day on day, year on year, tournament on tournament. So, talent and practice has enabled their meteoric explosion onto the UK high goal scene. In 2019, during their debut 22 goal UK season, the brothers wowed the crowds at Cowdray with a flamboyant and confident Gold Cup win. This year they have consolidated with assured performances in every 22 goal Final. For the 2020 Cartier Queen’s Cup their incredible talent and ability teamed with Santiago Laborde as a willing and able accomplice and Dillon Bacon who plays a skilled game off just 2 goals and unlike many patrons in the high goal certainly cannot be left unattended and unmarked without repercussions, creates a formidable force to

be reckoned with. Add into the mixture a back of house team of excellent coaching and organisation and the combination is a recipe for success that powered Les Lions/ Great Oaks through the game with a force, that despite close scoring, always looked credible with the half-time score of 4-3 in their favour truly reflecting the tide of the first half.

The age and experience of the

Pieres brothers seemed to gain traction in the second half, as the Les Lions/Great Oaks team waivered slightly in their path to victory. Whilst hugely experienced with hours in the saddle beyond their youthful years, the Castagnola brothers seemed rattled by the continuous onslaught from

Park Place as scores were matched goal for goal. In what had been a great match for Will Harper, he played an unbelievable shot to equalise the scores at the end of the sixth chukka for Park Place. And so it was all to play for in extra-time. In what seemed a completely fitting end to a match which had ostensibly been a tale of two sets of brothers, Barto Castagnola found himself powering

The youthful Castagnola brothers are truly a force to behold, having an ease of placement which sees them seemingly effortlessly pop up in the right place at the right time

towards goal, with Andrey Borodin in close attendance. In a display of fraternal generosity, or well drilled altruism (remember their father Lolo was watching with raptor-like attention), Barto moved to one side, taking Borodin with him, to let his brother Jeta take the ball and score the winning goal to bring the final score to 9-8 in Les Lions/Great Oaks favour.

Patron of the winning team, Dillon Bacon received the historic trophy from Brian Stein, the Chairman of Guards Polo Club whilst each member of the winning team received a Cartier Tank watch. Bacon was also named the Cartier Most Valuable Player for his truly un-patron like play, while the stallion Chalo Angelo, which was unusually played by both Barto and Jeta Castagnola in this match, received the Cartier Best Playing Pony prize, a Cartier rug.

The Cartier Queen’s Cup Subsidiary Final

Earlier in the day, Brian Stein presented Alessandro Bazzoni of the Monterosso Polo Team with the Cartier Trophy. Interestingly, this was the first time in the history of the tournament that a Cartier Queen’s Cup match has been played between a husband and a wife. Alessandro Bazzoni was competing in this tournament for the fourth time while, his wife Siri was making her Cartier Trophy debut with her MT Vikings team. This was a close game played over six chukkas with Monterosso just stealing a 6-5 win in the final chukka. Alessandro Bazzoni was rewarded with the Cartier Most Valuable Player prize in this Cartier Trophy match.

The Cartier Queen’s Cup Subsidiary Final Teams

Monterosso (22): Alessandro Bazzoni (1), Guillermo Terrera (7), Ignacio Toccalino (8) & Jeronimo del Carril (6) Monterosso Vikings (22): Siri Bazzoni (0), James Beim (7), Sebastian Merlos (8) & Juan Martin Zubia (7)

Where:

Guards Polo Club, Windsor

MVP Dillon Bacon

BPP

Best Playing Pony: Chalo Angelo, ridden by Barto Castagnola

28 JULY FINAL 23 AUG

43 goals Tournament Top Scorer: Nico Pieres, with 43 goals

BPP

Best Polo Argentine Breed:

Open Mediterránea, ridden by Facundo Pieres

The Cartier Queen’s Cup Final Teams

Les Lions/Great Oaks (23) Park Place (22)

Camilo ‘Jeta’ Castagnola (7) Will Harper (3) Dillon Bacon (2) Andrey Borodin (0) Barto Castagnola (8) Gonzalito Pieres (9) Santiago Laborde (6) Facundo Pieres (10) Chukka Scores: (0-1) 3-1, 3-2, 4-3, 6-4, 8-5, 8-8, 9-8 to Les Lion/Great Oaks

Jason Dixon & Tim Bown, with Third Man Peter Wright 5 goals

Final Top Scorer:

Camilo ‘Jeta’ Castagnola & Facundo Pieres, with five goals (three penalties) each