Upwards of 15,000 spectators crowded round the world-famous Cowdray ‘Lawns’ on 18th July to watch Dubai take on Lechuza Caracas in the Final of the 22 goal Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup for the British Open Polo Championship, both teams having battled through seven matches to reach the Final of the most coveted trophy in polo. Each of the twenty teams which entered the 2010 British Open played a minimum of four games during the Championship.

Lechuza had one goal on the scoreboard at the start of the match, the Dubai team fielding a 23 goal side comprising the patron’s son Rashid Albwardy, playing off 1 goal at no: 1, Francisco Vismara (3 goals) at 2, talented 9 goal player Pablo MacDonough at 3, and the legendary Adolfo Cambiaso (10 goals) at Back.  For Lechuza Caracas, the patron Victor Vargas at the front door playing off 1 goal, was a key force in the match, complementing Guillermo ‘Sapo’ Caset (8 goals) at no: 2, Miguel Novillo Astrada (9 goals) at 3, and English player 4 goaler Max Routledge, a brilliant young rider, at Back.

First to score was the Dubai team with an opening goal from Francisco Vismara, soon matched by a good field goal from Lechuza’s patron.  Goals from Cambiaso and MacDonough saw Dubai ahead 4-2 at the end of the first chukka, By half time Dubai had increased their lead by three goals and were ahead 8-5. 

After the tread-in, Lechuza came back with determination and focus. Miguel Novillo Astrada popped a fine field goal through the posts and Sapo Caset scored from both a field goal and a penalty to level the scores.  But within a minute Adolfo Cambiaso re-established himself firmly in the driving seat and the chukka closed at 10-8 to Dubai, the fifth chukka closing at 12-10 in Dubai’s favour.  The final chukka saw Cambiaso score from two penalties to put the Dubai side ahead 14-10, but Lechuza continued fighting. Caset and Novillo Astrada made a field goal each but eventually could not deny victory to Dubai in a high scoring and entertaining match which finally resulted in a 14-12 win for Dubai and the indomitable Cambiaso.

Young Rashid Albwardy was delighted to accept the world famous trophy from Stephane Baschiera, President of Veuve Clicquot, whilst a Salmanazar, the equivalent of 12 bottles of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label, was presented to him by Jo Thornton, MD Veuve Clicquot (UK).

The nine goals that Adolfo scored in the match saw him streak ahead on the leader board to become the Highest Goal Scorer of the British Open Tournament and receive a bespoke yellow leather saddle from Veuve Clicquot’s Marketing Director Elsa Corbineau.  His tally of goals also provided little doubt that he should be named Most Valuable Player, also picking up the Peter Holman trophy.

In celebration of Cowdray Park’s centenary year, the Hon Emily Pearson, on behalf of the Cowdray family, presented a rug for the Best Playing Pony of the match, judged to be Dolfina Caridad, owned by Adolfo Cambiaso, whose day it certainly was.  Indeed since December he has won the Argentine Open, followed by the American Open and two 26 goal tournaments in Florida and, most recently, the Queens Cup in the UK.  

Dubai previously won the Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup in 2001 and 2005 and were finalists in 2004 and 2009.  Rashid Albwardy said:  “It feels really good to have won the Gold Cup, especially as we reached the Final last year and didn’t make it.”