Tuesday, 14 March 2017

Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series

Zedan Polo wins the Julius Baer Gold Cup Final 
10th March 2017, DUBAI, UAE: Zedan Polo won the Julius Baer Gold Cup, the most important trophy of the Middle East polo season, after defeating Julius Baer by Habtoor Polo in a great final by 10 goals to 8.

Team made up by patron Amr Zedan, Martín Gándara, Octavio Olmedo and 10 goaler superstar Pablo Mac Donough played a great game in field 1 of the Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club to achieve the third trophy in a row in the same amount of seasons.
Zedan won the first Julius Baer Gold Cup in 2015, in 2016 they achieved the McLaren Silver Cup and this year they lift the most important trophy of the Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series after winning a very tough match against Julius Baer Team.

Teamwork and patience were the main keys of the winning team in a very even match.
Score remained even in the first two chukkers and despite Zedan took the lead from the third period onwards, Julius Baer Team always put pressure on them and till the last minutes victory was not secured.
Finally it was a 10 goals to 8 triumph for a team that didn´t started the season in the best way but, in the two most important matches of the Julius Baer Gold Cup (semifinal and final), showed up with full potential and with Pablo Mac Donough playing in a superb level.

Octavio Olmedo was the MVP of the match and Gete Pintura, played by Pablo Mac Donough in the 2nd and 4th chukker the Best Playing Pony.
Habtoor Al Habtoor, Wolves Team patron, was the amateur top scorer and Alfredo Capella, from Abu Dhabi Polo Team, the professional top scorer.

Match progression:
Zedan Polo: 1-1/ 4-4/ 7-5/ 9-7/ 10-8

Bentley Cup Final
Mahra Polo Team, foursome made up by patron Rashid Al Habtoor, Isidro Strada, Juan Ruíz Guiñazú and Jerónimo del Carril won the Bentley Cup after defeating Wolves by 11 goals to 8 in the final.

Match progression:
Mahra Polo: 3-1/ 3-3/ 7-3/ 9-7/ 11-8


The Perfect Partnership - Oxford University Polo Club teams up with British Polo Gin

Oxford University Polo Club (OUPC) has signed an exciting agreement with British Polo Gin for the upcoming season. This new partnership will see British Polo Gin, which specialises in creating 100% organic quadruple-distilled, hand-crafted, small batch gin, as OUPC’s shirt sponsor and official spirit supplier. This means that British Polo Gin will be the drink of choice at all of the team’s upcoming polo fixtures, including the prestigious La Martina Varsity Day – their annual contest against Cambridge – at Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park on Saturday 3 June. OUPC is also planning a garden party/gin reception in Oxford this summer to further celebrate this landmark partnership.

Issa Dasu Patel, Chairman of the OUPC and a student at Lady Margaret Hall, said of this new sponsorship deal: “Oxford University Polo Club prides itself on its partnerships and is delighted to have already secured the backing of two of the sport’s leading brands, La Martina and Guards Polo Club. The opportunity to add British Polo Gin to our impressive cohort of partners is excellent news and we look forward to working with them on some exciting initiatives this season. The first of those was a chance to celebrate the new partnership at the OUPC Annual White-Tie Ball at Blenheim Palace in early March, where all the guests were able to taste some of the very fine gin!”
British Polo Gin, was founded by Rich Hine in 2016 after an epiphany while working in a gin business in Western Australia in 2015. He identified a gap in the market for a 100% organic gin and simultaneously identified that the first British polo players were the first men to drink gin with their daily tonic ration. Thanks to Rich’s excellent ties to the great game of polo, including his uncle being a former captain of the England Polo Team, British Polo Gin has successfully established itself within the sport. Rich has represented England in polo across the globe and was, at the time, the youngest ever winner when he won the iconic Archie David Cup at Guards Polo Club, aged just 16. However, this new partnership with OUPC highlights the importance of varsity polo to the game in general and will help create that all-important platform for student players to experience the sport of polo at the highest level possible.
Rich Hine said of this new exciting new partnership: “Following my conception of British Polo Gin in November 2015, the salient tenets of the company were to deliver an exceptionally smooth, 100% organic gin which would challenge conventional gin distilleries and become established as The Polo Player’s choice. Through our invaluable link to OUPC, we are able to ensure that British Polo Gin continues to enjoy the patronage of leading millennials and to enjoy association with the rich and colourful heritage of Oxford University. We are very excited to explore how our new relationship develops and look forward attending events in partnership with OUPC across 2017.”

Image: Rich Hine of British Polo Gin with Issa Dasu Patel, Chairman of Oxford University Polo Club

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Oxford University Polo Club – please contact Issa Dasu Patel, issa@oupoloclub.co.uk; for general enquiries please contact polo.club@studentclubs.ox.ac.uk; website: www.oxforduniversitypoloclub.com
British Polo Gin – please contact Rich Hine, tel: +44 (0)1452 730 770; email: enquiries@britishpologin.co.uk; website: www.britishpologin.co.uk