C.V. WHITNEY CUP®

C.V. WHITNEY CUP®

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Originally known as the U.S. Handicap, the C.V. Whitney Cup® was first competed for in 1979 by handicap, and played in conjunction with the U.S. Open Polo Championship®. Played at Retama Polo Center in San Antonio, Texas, it was won the first two years by Tulsa.

Nine years later, in 1988, the tournament was renamed for C.V. (Cornelius Vanderbilt “Sonny”) Whitney, an avid polo player and three-time winner of the U.S. Open in 1928, 1937 and 1938, and son of 10-goal Hall of Famer Harry Payne Whitney. In its inaugural years in 1988 and 1989, Mr. Whitney was on hand in Lexington, Kentucky, to make the first presentations of the C.V. Whitney Cup®. The winner of the cup those first two years was the Ft. Lauderdale team of Jack Oxley, Joey Casey, Ernesto Trotz and Bart Evans.

Now played as a stand-alone tournament, the C.V. Whitney Cup® is the first of three 22-goal tournaments in the GAUNTLET OF POLO® at the International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC) in Wellington, Florida. Its home since 2003, the C.V. Whitney Cup® will be followed by the USPA Gold Cup® and the U.S. Open Polo Championship®.

In 2015 Orchard Hill defeated Alegria in the highest-scoring final in C.V. Whitney Cup® history 16-13. Orchard Hill defended their title in 2016, defeating Audi 11-9, but the defending champions lost the trophy to rival Valiente in 2017, 14-11. Notable past winners include Valiente (2012, 2014, 2017, 2018), Lechuza (1999, 2002, 2011) and White Birch (1995, 1996, 2000, 2001 and 2005).

History was made during the first GAUNTLET OF POLO® in 2019, when Pilot captured the C.V. Whitney Cup® starting a run to capture all three events, winning the $500,000 bonus and earning $1 million over the course of the series. Surviving a fierce single-elimination tournament in 2019, Pilot and Las Monjitas emerged out of a field of 16 challengers to contend for the C.V. Whitney Cup® which was ultimately won 13-6 by Pilot. Reaching the C.V. Whitney Cup® Final for the second consecutive year, Las Monjitas (Camilo Bautista, Mackenzie Weisz, Francisco Elizalde, David Stirling) emerged as the champions in 2020, defeating La Indiana 11-10 in the hard-fought final.

In 2021, Park Place (Matt Coppola, Hilario Ulloa, Juan Britos, Jack Whitman) knew there could be no margin for error in the C.V. Whitney Cup® Final against undefeated Scone (David Paradice, Adolfo Cambiaso, Poroto Cambiaso, Peke Gonzalez), captained by the formidable Adolfo Cambiaso. The two teams found themselves locked in a tight and passionate game from start to finish, never separated by more than a goal each chukker. Forcing the game into overtime with under a minute remaining, Park Place relentlessly fought to score the golden goal, claiming the coveted title 11-10.

A new champion will be crowned in 2022 with nine teams competing for the first leg of the GAUNTLET OF POLO® including newcomers La Fe, finding success in 18-goal competition as a finalist in the 2022 Iglehart Cup and Ylvisaker Cup at IPC in Wellington, Florida.

The 10-goalers competing this year include reigning champion Hilario Ulloa (Park Place), 2021 USPA Gold Cup® and U.S. Open Polo Championship winner Adolfo Cambiaso (Scone), Facundo Pieres (Pilot) and David 'Pelon' Stirling (SD Farms).

The winner of the C.V. Whitney Cup® will receive $50,000. In partnership with USPA Global Licensing, each of the teams will select a charity of their choice from 10 non-profits and both charities of the winner and runners-up will receive a $2,500 donation.

Showcasing many young and talented polo players, the competition includes active Team USPA Members Timmy Dutta (Dutta Corp/Show+), brothers Nico Escobar (Coca-Cola) and Lucas Escobar (SD Farms), Kristos 'Keko' Magrini (Scone) and Graduating USPA Member Cody Ellis (Park Place). Click here to learn more about the GAUNTLET OF POLO®.

Photo: 2022 C.V. Whitney Cup Champions: Park Place - Josh Hyde, Juan Britos, Andrey Borodin, Hilario Ulloa, Cody Ellis. ©David Lominska