Spectators at The International Polo Club Palm Beach saw an amazing match in the 2019 Joe Barry Cup that came down to the final seconds with Dutta Corp (Timmy Dutta, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Gringo Colombres, Kris Kampsen) fighting against the second half comeback by SD Farms (Sayyu Dantata, Peco Polledo, Juan Martin Obregon, Jesse Bray) to claim the 13-12 victory.
With a great day for polo, Dutta Corp charged out of the gate with Gringo Colombres leading the action, producing long runs to goal and finishing with precision to give his team the lead. The potent Dutta Corp offense that scored 21 goals in their opening game of the tournament seemed to be an overwhelming force once again, scoring 10 first half goals and outrivaling in a possession game that saw plenty of backing for the ball carrier. The energy of the game changed in the second half as the pace of play grew and patron Sayyu Dantata made his impression on the game with numerous runs and solid defensive plays. With a clean second half leaving the result in open play, Dutta Corp was able to hold off the late comeback from SD Farms and claim the victory in a game where everyone was on the edge of their seats in the final minute.
After adding to their one-goal advantage because of thier handicap with an early penalty conversion, SD Farms held an early 2-0 lead, but that rapidly vanished after four unreturned goals from Dutta Corp to end the initial chukkr. Looking to repeat as MVP for the second successive week, Colombres took over the second chukker, with a series of runs through the SD Farms defense as they allowed Colombres to score three goals and stretch his team score to take the 8-4 lead. Looking to increase their defensive force on the ball and avert the runs of Dutta Corp, SD Farms improved their physicality and the result was a foul ridden third chukker to finish the half, with the teams scoring two goals to help Dutta Corp sustain their four-goal lead.
The second half introduced an invigorated SD Farms team, led by Dantata aggressively pushing the ball down field to start his team’s assaults. Finishing a nice run for his second goal of the game, Dantata’s presence on the ball freed up the rest of his team as they battled their way back into the game after precise passes downfield and exact shooting. Jesse Bray’s first goal of the game tied the game at 11-11, much to the exhilaration of the crowd in the grandstand, with the result of the game to be decided in the final minutes.
After Colombres and Bray traded goals to return the tie, a miscue from SD Farms saw Colombres rapidly jump on the loose ball and run it through the goal to put his team up by one with minutes remaining. A late run from SD Farms saw Bray break away for a run with time expiring and a long shot from 100 yards out didn’t make it to the goal in time as time expired and Dutta Corp took victory to remain undefeated in the Joe Barry Cup. Colombres took his second consecutive MVP award behind a seven-goal performance, while his horse Coquito also won Best Playing Pony.
There will be more High Goal Polo at the International Polo Club Palm Beach, in Wellington, FL this week. Check their website.
Polo photos for this article were sourced from the HorseBuff Equestrian Marketplace Instagram account. To see more equestrian photos from HorseBuff.com please visit www.Instagram.com/realhorsebuff.
Major reporting contributions for this article were received from the International Polo Club in Wellington FL. Please visit www.internationalpoloclub.com or call (561) 204-5687 for more information on the International Polo Club.
