WELLINGTON, Fl.- May 4, 2019----Three-time defending champion Dutta Corp will try and make it four in a row Sunday in the championship final of the Sun Cup at Grand Champions Polo Club.
Standing in its way will be Aspen Valley (Grant Ganzi, 3, Juancito Bollini, 4, Pablo Pulido, 2, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 8), 11-7 winners over Audi (Santos Bollini, 1, Sugar Erskine, 6, Pablo Spinacci, 6, Tommy Collingwood, 5) Saturday at Santa Rita Polo Farm. The game was re-scheduled from Friday because of heavy afternoon rain.
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Jared Zenni of Dutta Corp goes for the big hit downfield.
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Dutta Corp (Timmy Dutta, 2, Carlitos Gracida, 4, Kris Kampsen, 6, Jared Zenni, 6) advanced into the final with a 12-9 victory over Palm Beach Equine (Brandon Phillips, 4, Juan Bollini, 5, Nic Roldan, 8, Scott Swerdlin, 0) Friday at Grand Champions.
On Sunday at Grand Champions, Audi and Palm Beach Equine will meet in the Just For The Fun Of It Cup at 10 a.m. on Field 3. The final is 11:30 a.m. on Field 2.
In last year's Sun Cup final, Dutta Corp (Timmy Dutta, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Piki Diaz Alberdi, Tim Dutta) three-peated the title with a 10-6 victory over Newport (Gene Goldstein, Grant Ganzi, Nacho Novillo Astrada, Marc Ganzi).
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Nic Roldan of Palm Beach Equine drives downfield with Carlitos Gracida of Dutta Corp on his hip.
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"Dutta Corp is a very tough team," Ganzi said. "They have four very strong players and work very well for each other. Jared is very solid at back, Timmy was very good at one and Kampsen and Carlitos were doing very well in the middle. They play well as a team. We're going to have to execute our plays well and work for each other better and work on the things we did well and not repeat our mistakes from today."
Based on Friday's tournament-opener, Dutta Corp looks poised to add another title to its resume.
After a 1-1 opening chukker, Dutta Corp pulled away 3-2 after two and 7-5 at the half. Dutta Corp maintained at least a two-goal lead for most of the second half and never relinguished its lead.
"We played open polo," Dutta said. "We like to play open, classic polo. You can let the horses go. You don't have to slam on the brakes all the time. The nice thing is we are four players who play as a team."
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Timmy Dutta of Dutta Corp on his way to scoring one of his seven goals with Juan Bollini of Palm Beach Equine defending.
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It was the first time the foursome have played together. Dutta and Kampsen played the entire 20-22 goal winter season together, winning three tournaments. Dutta played with Zenni during the Westchester Cup practices and Gracida several times in tournaments over the past few years.
"This is a bunch of good guys playing together," Dutta said. "When I got the email saying that I was playing with these guys I said 'super.' They are all friends of mine. We know each other very well and we had fun out there."
The spring season also gives players an opportunity to play their younger horses in preparation for the winter season.
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Scott Swerdlin of Palm Beach Equine tries to get the ball past Kris Kampsen of Dutta Corp.
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"This does give you a chance to play newer and younger horses, and play them hard to see what you've got at the end of the day," Kampsen said. "That's what I look forward to in the spring, improving my string for better polo next winter.
"It's the horses, it's a horse sport," Gracida said. "I'm very proud of my horses and I know Kris is and I know Tim has been putting a lot of time and money into his horses for the past few years. I always give credit to the horses."
The chemistry is evident throughout the Dutta Corp lineup.
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Jared Zenni of Dutta Corp tries to ride off Brandon Phillips of Palm Beach Equine.
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"This is really a fun team," Kampsen said. "I got to play the whole winter with Timmy. I've only played one game in my life so far with Jerod and that was fun. I've been playing with Carlitos since we were both little kids.
"Let's see what we do on Sunday but right now it feels really good," Kampsen said. "Everyone is playing really well and everyone is playing for each other."
Dutta scored a game-high seven goals. Kampsen had three goals and Gracida and Zenni each had one goal.
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Timmy Dutta of Dutta Corp leans into his shot with teammates Kris Kampsen and Jared Zenni backing him up.
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"It's a lot of fun, all these guys play similar style polo," Zenni said. "Nice, open running, the simpler the better. In the second and third chukker we said let's try and open it a little more and we started hitting more back shots and it started working a little better.
"It's great playing here at Grand Champions," Zenni said. "We are all trying to get better and learn and finish off the season in a good way. Overall, it's been a good year and hopefully next year will be better."
Phillips led Palm Beach Equine with four goals. Roldan had two goals and Bollini and Swerdlin each had one goal.
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Carlitos Gracida of Dutta Corp reaches to hook Brandon Phillips of Palm Beach Equine.
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"We just tried to work for each other and not be so selfish," Gracida said. "Our plan from the beginning was take our time and hit it. At one point in each chukker one of us are on a mare that we are comfortable with so we find a space and go. It's just discipline."
In Saturday morning's game, Aspen Valley dominated four of the six chukkers
"We played pretty well," Ganzi said. "It's a fun team. We are four guys that can play pretty well together. In the third and fourth chukkers we weren't reading the play the right way and our passes didn't reach. It was just the little things and that's easy to fix. It's just about working as a team better."
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Timmy Dutta of Dutta Corp and Scott Swerdlin of Palm Beach Equine battle for ball during a throw-in.
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Aspen Valley jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first chukker and extended it to 4-1 after two. Audi, still finding its rhythm while Aspen Valley led 6-2 early in the third chukker, clawed its way back for a 3-2 third chukker and trailed by two at the half, 6-4. Audi tried to keep it close but missed several scoring opportunities from the field and penalty line.
"We got a four-goal lead and we relaxed a little bit," Astrada said. "We realized they were beginning to find their game so we started to concentrate again and we got our rhythm again.
"I like this team, we complement each other very well," Astrada said. "Dutta Corp is a very good, tough team. It will be fun. They are going to be very hard to beat, that will be the fun part."
Astrada and Pulido, playing above his 2-go
al handicap, shared scoring honors each with four goals. Bollini added two goals. Aspen Valley received one goal on handicap.
Erskine led Audi with four goals. Collingwood had two goals and Spinacci had one goal.
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Carlitos Gracida of Dutta Corp hits past Nic Roldan of Palm Beach Equine.
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The remainder of the Grand Champions spring schedule is: May 10-12, Spring Challenge Cup; May 17-19, Polo Gear Challenge Cup; and May 24-26 The Memorial. The entire spring season will be live-streamed on Wellington-based ChukkerTV. Food and refreshments for players and fans is available on championship days. Admission is always free except for special event games.
Grand Champions fall, winter and spring tournaments attract a large international field of players from all corners of the world including India, Mexico, New Zealand, Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina, Canada, Ecuador, Brazil, Switzerland, France, Germany, Uruguay, Azerbaijan, Australia, South Africa, Nigeria, Venezuela and England.
Grand Champions and Santa Rita Polo Farm is the largest and most unique polo facility in Wellington with 120 stalls in five self-contained barns, exercise track, five climate-controlled tack rooms, vet room, staff quarters, guest house and three polo fields with state-of-the-art underground irrigation including one field for stick-and-ball with plans to build more polo fields in the future.
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Carlitos Gracida of Dutta Corp hits the neck shot with Brandon Phillips of Palm Beach Equine defending.
Photos by Sheryel Aschfort
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Grand Champions Polo Club and Santa Rita Polo Farm caters to men, women and youth polo players at all levels and ages. Its' expert staff can customize a complete playing experience including horses, pros and certified umpires in addition to lessons and practice sessions as part of its' Polo On Demand program, created by Grand Champions President Melissa Ganzi when the club first opened in 2007.
The Polo School, a stand-alone USPA-sanctioned polo club, is dedicated to teaching polo to all ages, particularly grass roots youth. Its mission is to provide individuals opportunities in polo at every economic and ability level. Scholarships are available. The Polo School operates in Wellington January through May and September through November. Headed by Director of Operations Juan Bollini, The Polo School has nurtured several men and women polo players now playing in the pro and amateur ranks since its inception.
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