Valiente Wins National United States Polo Association C.V. Whitney Cup

LAKE WORTH, Fla. - March 3, 2014 - PRLog -- The final match of the National United States Polo Association C.V. Whitney Cup was yesterday, Sunday March 2^nd. The heated 26-goal tournament ended in a 12-8 victory for Valiente over Orchard Hill at the International Polo Club Palm Beach located in Wellington, Florida.

Valiente’s 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso, ranked No. 1 in the world, scored a total of five goals, as did teammate Sapo Caset. Cambiaso’s steed Boeing, owned by player-owner by Bob Jornayvaz, in the match during the first and sixth chukkers, was named Best Playing Pony.  Valiente’s Santi Torres was named Most Valuable Player after scoring two goals. Orchard Hill teammates Pablo MacDonough and Matias MacDonough each scored three goals.

Prior to the match a tribute to the late Carlos Gracida was held that included his sons, Mariano and Carlos Gracida Jr. riding onto the field accompanying a riderless horse in honor of their father.

The match will be televised on Sunday, March 23^rd, from 4-5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on NBC Sports Network.  The broadcast is the most advanced television coverage of polo undertaken for polo to date, and includes use of an aerial drone mounted camera to enable never before possible close ups of the action on the vast polo field – the largest in team sports.

The C.V. Whitney Cup is an elite polo tournament first held in 1979. It was named in memory of Cornelius Vanderbilt "Sonny" Whitney who, along with his cousin John Hay Whitney, were important polo patrons in the 1930's. The son of Hall of Famer Harry Payne Whitney, C.V. won the US Open three times (twice against his brother) and was a renowned owner and breeder of thoroughbred horses.  CV Whitney's niece, Whitney Miller Douglass, presented this year’s cup to the victors.

The C.V. Whitney tournament is the first leg of the United States’ polo Triple Crown, with the Piaget USPA Gold Cup® and the U.S. Open Polo Championship® remaining. The 26-goal Piaget USPA Gold Cup tournament begins this Friday, March 7, at 3 P.M.