Tortugas Open Polo Championship Underway

By Alex Webbe

The Tortugas Country Club Open Polo Championship is currently underway, as six
teams compete for the Emilio de Anchorena Cup in the highest level of polo competition
in the world.

The Tortugas Open signals the start of the high-goal polo season in Argentina,
unveiling familiar names and faces but a number of different combinations as the first of
Argentina’s Triple Crown got underway.

The Novillo Astrada brothers took the field in their familiar La Aguada line-up
Tuesday afternoon, where after a slow start turned it on to capture a 12-8 win over a
disorganized Pilara foursome.

An injury to the wrist of Pilara’s back, Tomas Garcia del Rio (not expected back until
the Hurlingham Open at the earliest) brought Chilean 8-goaler Jaime Huidobro into the
lineup, supplying the spark that allowed Pilara to jump out to an early 3-2 first chukker
lead on the strength of a pair of goals from 9-goaler Hilario Ulloa and a single score
from Magoo Laprida. Javier Novillo Astrada drove the ball through the goal posts for
both of the La Aguada scores, but Pilara led 3-2 going into the second period.

Javier and brother Nacho Novillo Astrada combined for three goals to tie it up at 5-5 in
the second, with Bautista Heguy scoring twice for Pilara.

Pilara continued to give La Aguada fits in the third chukker, limiting the veteran team to
a single goal from Nacho Novillo Astrada while getting another goal from Ulloa to keep it
all even at 6-6 after the first three periods of play.

The veteran La Aguada team settled into its familiar rhythm in the fourth chukker,
however, and four unanswered goals put La Aguada on top of a 10-6 score as they
carried the lead through the balance of the seven chukker match for a final 12-8 victory.

Shutout defense in the fourth and fifth chukkers really put the game on ice as the Novillo
Astradas held Pilara to single goals in the final two periods of the game; one from
Heguy in the fifth and another from Huidobro in the seventh.

Javier and Nacho Novillo Astrada combined for all twelve of the La Aguada goals as the
brothers looked to be getting ready to take on all comers in the 2011 season.

Action will continue at Tortugas on Wednesday when Estancia Grande makes its debut
with Lucas Monteverde and Lolo Castagnola joining Agustin and Sebastian Merlos
against Indios Chapaleufu II (Pepe and Eduardo Heguy, Negro Novillo Astrada and
Marcos di Paola).

We won’t get to see the remnants of last year’s Argentine Open finalists until the
weekend with a 39-goal La Dolfina team of Adolfo Cambiaso, Pablo MacDonough, Juan
Martin Nero and Pelon Stirling facing Pilara in a Saturday contest, followed by a Sunday
contest between Ellerstina’s Pieres brothers (Gonzalito, Facundo and Nicolas) and
Nachi Heguy against the loser of Wednesday’s game.