Guards Polo Club Official Yearbook 2017 Official Yearbook 2017 | Page 118

cartier dubai
HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, patron of
the Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge,
HRH Princess Azemah, Jerome Metzger of Cartier,
Alessandra Ambrosio and Ali Albwardy with the
winning Zedan Polo team (from left): Raul Laplacette,
Rashid Bin Drai, Amr Zedan and Nico Petracchi
HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein and Ali Albwardy
with Desert Palm team player HRH Prince Jefri
All four teams, representing an
impressive cohort of international
players, had been on great form all week
in a quest to reach the final, but Zedan
Polo had stood out from day one as
being the team to beat. Unusually it was
Desert Palm this time around who were
struggling to find goals and, although
they beat Zedan Polo by a goal on day
three it was not enough to power them
through to the final. The final league
match between Cartier and Habtoor was
more crucial with both teams hunting
that all important place in the final. This
game was so tight that it was impossible
118
to call. Only a goal separated the teams
at best, while a flurry of penalties in the
last minute highlighted the tension. With
the clock ticking down and the score
reading 6-6, Santi Gomez Romero, who
went on to be named MVP on finals day,
shot through a penalty for Habtoor to
win the game.
Win or lose though, the key to the
success of this tournament is that it offers
an excellent platform on which to build
relationships in the sport. That said, the
chance to play great ponies, on good
grounds, in warm, winter sunshine is not
an opportunity to be missed either! The
Cartier co-patron
Peter Donald Reid
fact that Cartier was celebrating its 12th
event in 2016 is testament to the success
of this particular international recipe.
Zedan Polo: Amr Zedan (0); Rashid
Bin Drai (0); Nico Petracchi (2);
Raul Laplacette (6). Habtoor Polo:
Mohammed Al Habtoor (0); Stuart
Wrigley (0); Santiago Gomez Romero
(3); Tomas Iriarte (5). Desert Palm:
HRH Prince Jefri (0); Tariq Albwardy (1);
Rashid Albwardy (2); Martin Valent (5).
Cartier: Peter Donald Reid (-1); Haider
Bangash (-1); Mario Gomez (4); Federico
Von Potobsky (6).
guards polo club official yearbook 2017