Laurence-Wallace/Paladin Rally Captures Butler Cup title; High-Goal Season Continues Sunday with USPA Piaget Gold Cup Final at International Polo Club
WELLINGTON, FL (March 24, 2007) – Ten-goaler Agustin Merlos scored six goals to lead Laurence-Wallace/Paladin Rally over Skeeterville 11-10 in the Butler Cup final Saturday at International Polo Club Palm Beach.
Skeeterville’s Owen Rinehart scored on a tap-in with 1:55 remaining to cut the margin to 11-10 but was unable to convert after a nice run 39 seconds later. On the ensuing series, Merlos carried the ball nearly the length of the field before losing it with about 30 seconds remaining. However, Skeeterville could not get off a shot to tie the game.
There were five ties, the last at 9-9 early in the fifth chukker. Skeeterville led only once, 7-6 at the end of the first half.
Mike Azzaro added four goals and Luis Escobar scored one goal for the winners. Patron Elizabeth Iorio did not score.
Julio Arellano led Skeeterville with five goals while Rinehart finished with three goals and patron Skeeter Johnston and Marcos di Paola had one goal apiece.
The high-goal polo season continues Sunday at 3 p.m. when Crab Orchard, led by 10-goal superstar Adolfo Cambiaso, plays Lechuza Caracas in the USPA Piaget Gold Cup final on Stanford Field.
“We have to play close to the man and hope to be on a good day,” said 10-goaler Sebastian Merlos of Lechuza Caracas. “And we will kidnap Pelon (7-goaler David Stirling Jr.) and Cambiaso,” he said, laughing.
“If you want to win the Gold Cup or the U.S. Open, you have to beat that team (Crab Orchard). “We’re where everyone wants to be, playing in the final.”
George Rawlings’ Crab Orchard, with Cambiaso and Matias Magrini, are 4-0 coming into the final. They have built large leads in the first half in each game – 14-0, 10-1, 9-3 and 8-4.
Cambiaso and Magrini are in the midst of a spectacular season, winning 16 of 17 games in both the 22-goal and 26-goal seasons at International Polo Club.
Lechuza Caracas comes into the final with a 4-1 record, with Merlos and his older brother, Pite, playing extremely well. Six-goaler Jeff Blake of Wellington and patron Victor Vargas round out the team.
Fourteen teams entered the 26-goal USPA Piaget Gold Cup, the second of the Big Three tournaments at International Polo Club Palm Beach. The USPA Piaget Gold Cup, which began in 1974, is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the United States and is in first season at International Polo Club.
The polo matches at International Polo Club are open to the public. General admission for the Sunday games at International Polo Club Palm Beach is $10 for adults. Children under 3 enter for free. Tickets may be purchased at the gate on the day of the game or in advance at the stadium box office.
Major sponsors at International Polo Club Palm Beach for the 2007 season include Stanford Private Wealth Management, Piaget, Bombardier Aerospace, Bessemer Trust, Westwind Realty, LLC, Panera Bread, Cartier, CityPlace, Florida Coast Equipment, The Mall at Wellington Green, Omar Trevino Bloodstock, Inc., Palm Beach Daily News, Palm Beach Illustrated, Palm Beach Post, Ritz Carlton Palm Beach, Roederer Estates, The Wellington Institute, Van Cleef & Arpels, Yamana Gold Inc. and Jim Corbin Illustrated Properties.
International Polo Club Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South, between Pierson Road and Lake Worth Road in Wellington. For information, directions or ticket purchases, please call the club at (561) 204-5687 or visit the website at www.internationalpoloclub.com.
Past Champions
2006 – New Bridge La Dolfina
2005 – Millarville
2004 – White Birch
2003 – White Birch
2002 – White Birch
2001 – Boca Polo
2000 – Isla Carroll
1999 – Outback
1998 – White Birch
1997 – White Birch
1996 – White Birch
1995 – Ellerston White
1994 – Michelob
1993 – Cellular One
1992 – Revlon
1991 – Cellular One
1990 – Les Diables Bleus
1989 – White Birch
1988 – White Birch
1987 – White Birch
1986 – White Birch
1985 – Chasqui
1984 – White Birch
1983 – White Birch
1982 – Boehm
1981 – Boca Raton
1980 – Retama
1979 – Retama
1978 – Abercrombie & Kent
1977 – Lone Oak
1976 – Willow Bend
1975 – Tulsa-Dallas
1974 – Milwaukee