NEWS

Article courtesy of International Polo Club Palm Beach

Competing for the first final of the 2020 season on Sunday, January 5, Stable Door scored the final five goals in a thrilling second half, defeating Palm Beach Equine to capture the Iglehart Cup 10-8 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida.

After a nail-biting 12-11 victory over Patagones in the first game, Stable Door found themselves in another hard-fought match against Palm Beach Equine, relying on the penalty accuracy of Santino Magrini to overcome the duo of Lucas Diaz Alberdi and Gringo Colombres. A dominant second half from the father-son duo of Santino and Matias Magrini saw them combine for six goals, pushing Stable Door to the narrow two-goal victory.

Foul trouble hindered Palm Beach Equine in the early stages of the game, conceding two penalty goals to face an early 2-0 deficit, but despite missing both penalty attempts, they came back within one goal. Making his first goal of the game, Henry Porter restored Stable Door’s two-goal lead, but improved discipline from Palm Beach Equine gave them the advantage for the remainder of the half. A dominant third chukker saw four unanswered goals by Palm Beach Equine including one each from Gonzalo Ferrari and Alberdi, and two off the mallet of Colombres. Held to just one field goal in the opening three chukkers, Stable Door faced a two-goal deficit heading into halftime with Palm Beach Equine in the lead 6-4.

Returning for the second half, all eight players fought to capture the first tournament of the season, the third and fourth yellow cards arising in the fourth chukker. Eight fouls in the fourth chukker slowed the pace, with a Penalty 3 conversion from Colombres extending Palm Beach Equine’s lead to three. Matias Magrini moved forward in the game, scoring consecutive goals to quickly reduce the lead to one as the intensity increased on the field. Santino Magrini’s fourth goal of the game tied the score at 8-all, leaving the sixth chukker to determine the champion. Building on their momentum from the fifth chukker, Stable Door pushed forward with Matias Magrini giving his team their first lead since the third chukker. Ultimately a crucial Penalty 4 conversion from Santino Magrini sealed the victory for Stable Door 10-8.

Most Valuable Player was awarded to Stable Door’s Matias Magrini. Elenor, an 8-year-old American Thoroughbred played by Matias Magrini, was named Best Playing Pony.

The 18-goal continues on Thursday, January 9, at 3:00pm when Patagones will take on Palm Beach Equine in the Joe Barry Memorial. The tournament will be available exclusively on Global Polo Network TV.