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Dutta Corp, Sebucan Meet Sunday For Polo Gear Challenge Cup At Grand Champions Polo Club
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WELLINGTON, Fl.-May 18, 2019----Dutta Corp will play Sebucan in the final of the Polo Gear Challenge Cup, one of the oldest tournaments in club history, Sunday at Grand Champions Polo Club.
Sebucan (Pablo Pulido, 2, Jared Zenni, 6, Pablo Spinacci, 6, Juancito Bollini, 4), making its spring debut in the two-day tournament, advanced into the championship with a 12-9 victory over Palm Beach Equine (Brandon Phillips, 4, Juan Bollini, 5, Nic Roldan, 8, Scott Swerdlin, 0).
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Juancito Bollini of Sebucan tries to ride off Juan Bollini of Palm Beach Equine.
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Dutta Corp (Timmy Dutta, 1, Tommy Collingwood, 5, Carlitos Gracida, 4, Kris Kampsen, 6) knocked off Audi (Grant Ganzi, 3, Sugar Erskine, 6, Marc Ganzi, 2, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 8), 9-7.
Dutta Corp and Sebucan will play at 11:30 a.m. following the Just For The Thrill Of It featuring Audi and Palm Beach Equine at 10 a.m. Justin Daniels will replace Grant Ganzi in the Audi lineup.
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Nic Roldan of Palm Beach Equine leans out of the saddle for the ball with Juancito Bollini of Sebucan on his hip.
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In the opening game Friday at Grand Champions, after a 2-2 opening chukker, Sebucan outscored Palm Beach Equine, 2-0, with goals from Spinacci and Zenni in the second chukker and pulled away for a 4-2 advantage. Sebucan never relinquished the lead.
Sebucan led 7-4 at the half, 8-6 after four chukkers and 11-8 going into the sixth chukker.
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Juancito Bollini of Sebucan pursues Brandon Phillips of Palm Beach Equine.
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"We used our passing to gain more of the field as early as possible," Bollini said. "It's laidback in the spring but it's still fast enough where we play good polo."
Bollini, winner of last weekend's Spring Challenge Cup with Aspen Valley, is playing with new teammates Spinacci and Zenni.
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Pablo Pulido of Sebucan drives downfield with Nic Roldan of Palm Beach Equine defending.
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"It's nice to play with different people," Bollini said. "It's nice to learn how to adapt to different styles of play. Jared and Pablo have a similar style of playing and it's very easy to adapt to them. They are both good players. The score says it all."
Zenni and Spinacci shared scoring honors each with four goals. Pulido and Bollini each had two goals. Roldan had a team-high four goals for Palm Beach Equine. Phillips added three goals and Swerdlin had one.
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Pablo Spinacci of Sebucan goes to hook Brandon Phillips of Palm Beach Equine.
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In the second game, Dutta Corp, winners of the Sun Cup, found its chemistry with a new lineup order and snapped a two-game losing streak.
"Today we really found the composition of the team and figured out how to play together," Dutta said. "It was really a rotating team, a bunch of young players that played well."
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Alejandro Novillo Astrada of Audi goes to hook Kris Kampsen of Dutta Corp.
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The game changed hands seven times before Dutta Corp broke a 6-6 tie on Gracida's goal with 4:34 left in the fifth chukker. Dutta Corp led 8-6 late in the fifth chukker and 9-7 with 5:53 left in the sixth chukker.
"I think where we really won was when we hit the ball and backhanders we were there and started cutting the field more and beating them on the turns," Dutta said. "That's when we started winning."
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Grant Ganzi of Audi hits the near side shot past Kris Kampsen of Dutta Corp.
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In the last two chukkers, Audi either missed or had blocked nine penalty conversion attempts.
"Our lineup worked," Kampsen said. "We've all known each other forever. We found a groove that worked for us and then we had some good luck at the end where those guys had a few penalty shots to win the game and we blocked them. That made a huge difference. We got lucky, we got really lucky."
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Timmy Dutta of Dutta Corp tries to ride off Sugar Erskine of Audi as he approaches the ball.
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Kampsen led Dutta Corp with four goals including three penalty conversions. Collingwood had two goals and Gracida added one. Dutta Corp picked up two goals on handicap against 19-goal Audi. Grant Ganzi led Audi with three goals. Erskine had two goals. Marc Ganzi and Astrada each had one goal.
Last year's Polo Gear Challenge Cup was rained out. In the 2017 spring Polo Gear Challenge Cup, 11-goal Dutta Corp (Carlitos Gracida, Timmy Dutta, Piki Diaz Alberdi, Tim Dutta) won 11-7 over 16-goal Newport (Gene Goldstein, Marc Ganzi, Lucas Lalor, Julio Arellano). Alberdi, a former 10-goaler in Great Britain, was MVP.
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Grant Ganzi of Audi leans into his defensive shot as Carlitos Gracida of Dutta Corp backs the ball.
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Winners of this season's first two spring tournaments were Dutta Corp (Timmy Dutta, 2, Carlitos Gracida, 4, Kris Kampsen, 6, Jared Zenni, 6) in the Sun Cup for a club record fourth time and Aspen Valley (Pablo Pulido, 2, Juancito Bollini, 4, Grant Ganzi, 3, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 8) in the Spring Challenge Cup. Both finals went into overtime.
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Tommy Collingwood of Dutta Corp hooks Grant Ganzi of Audi.
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Polo Gear, one of the sport's top sponsors, was established in 1993 and incorporated in Florida. It manufactures, distributes and sells polo products to players, teams and polo events worldwide. It is the premier retailer for all necessary clothing, accessories, safety equipment and polo saddles for the polo enthusiasts of all ages. For more information on Polo Gear and to order products, visit www.pologearusa.net or at 3500 Fairlane Farms Road, Suite 15, Wellington.
For players, family and fans, refreshments and food will be served during Sunday's finals. Admission is free.
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Alejandro Novillo Astrada of Audi tries to ride off Tommy Collingwood of Dutta Corp.
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The final two tournaments of the spring season are the May 24-26 Santa Rita Abierto and May 27 The Memorial. The spring season is being live-streamed on Wellington-based ChukkerTV.
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.
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Audi teammates Marc Ganzi and Alejandro Novillo Astrada double team Timmy Dutta of Dutta Corp.
Photos by Grand Champions Polo Club
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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.
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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MAY
17-19: Polo Gear Challenge Cup
24-26: The Memorial
Polo Gear Challenge Cup
Sunday, 5/19
10 a.m., Just For The Thrill Of It Audi vs Palm Beach Equine
11:30 a.m., Polo Gear Challenge Cup Final Dutta Corp vs Sebucan
Games played at Grand Champions and Santa Rita Polo Farm.
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THE POLO SCHOOL
The Polo School at Grand Champions and Director of Operations Juan Bollini are dedicated to teaching polo to all ages, particularly grass roots youth. The school's mission is to provide individuals opportunities in polo. The Polo School operates in Wellington January through June and September through November. For lessons contact Juan Bollini at 561-346-1099.
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Chukker TV is live streaming the entire spring polo schedule.
ChukkerTV, featuring cutting-edge technology, was the first to introduce state-of-the-art live streaming technology and instant replay in January, 2014 at Grand Champions Polo Club. For advertising opportunities on ChukkerTV please contact Mike Ferreira at [email protected].
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GRAND CHAMPIONS POLO CLUB
WHERE: 13444 Southfields Road, on the corner of South Shore Boulevard and Lake Worth Road, Wellington, 33414.
INFORMATION: For spectators, there are great field side views for tournament action and also the Grand Champions Polo Club Boutique. The club is home base for pro teams Audi and Flexjet. Everyone is welcome to watch every level of polo in a relaxed atmosphere with food and refreshments during the featured games of the winter, spring and fall tournament seasons and other special events. Admission is free except for some special events.
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