Clockwise from far left: today; with his cousin Roberto Gonzales in 1989 after winning the Gold Cup at Cowdray with Tramontana for the fourth year running; in action at Brooksfield in 2003, beside Pablo Macdonough
was winning, and I was winning everything for a while. People often said I did well in England when the Argentines weren't there in the 1980s, but during that time I was winning at Palermo too, and I continued winning in the UK in the 1990s. In the UK I went to 10 in 1984 until about 1998, then back up in 2005; in the US it was longer.
Not being Argentine you definitely feel different, but I knew other players respected
“Some of my best memories are at Cowdray: riding in the rain, the concentration, playing
alongside Roberto. It was a pleasure to put effort in with the Gold Cup to aim for.When I first won, I never thought I'd win it so many times”
but actually it was Noni-Noni, from around the same time. She'd make me play so well, and she'd play in my style. Chesney was a great horse but you had to use him the way he was, and adapt to his style. Another is one of my current horses, Legend, that Cambiaso
was
captain and in the UK I was.
I had great fun and success with Gonzalo Pieres [for La Espadaña and Ellerstina, winning the Argentine Open five times]; we were a good combination and he became a good friend. He's about four years older than me and someone I look up to: he's a genius in every sense, not only in polo. I also enjoyed playing with Javier Novillo Astrada. This season Sumaya is special, and Milo Fernandez-Araujo is one of the best team- mates I've had. He's always positive and makes you feel he believes in you. There's nothing worse than playing with someone who doesn't believe in you 100 per cent.
Which have been your favourite horses? People usually say my favourite was Chesney,
plays at Palermo. I have a system of buying unraced Thoroughbreds in Florida with Vicki Armour, taking them to Mexico while they grow up then back to the US for training.
Another is Chusma, who I brought over from the US in the 1990s. She was played by Gonzalo Pieres and Cambiaso and won best playing pony in the Gold Cup in the 1990s. She became a famous broodmare in Argentina for Gonzalo Pieres and has produced more than $2m worth of embryos.
At your peak did you realise you were the world's best player? Not really: all I thought about was winning. Because I'm Mexican no one would acknowledge it, but looking back I was at the top. I'm not saying I was absolutely the best, but the best is who
Carlos’s wins
Carlos has won 10 Gold Cups, nine US Opens and five Argentine Opens, and is the only player to have won every Open in one year – a feat he repeated three times, in 1987, 1988 and 1994.
Cowdray Park Gold Cup wins
1982 – Southfields(with David Yeoman, J Walker and Charles Beresford) beat Les Diables Bleus
1983 – Falcons(with Alex Ebeid, Memo Gracida and Andrew Hine) beat Centaurs
1986 – Tramontana(with Anthony Embiricos, Martin Brown and Jesus Baez) beat Cowdray Park
1987 – Tramontana(with Anthony Embiricos, David Jamison and Roberto Gonzales/Mike Azzarro) beat Windsor Park
1988 – Tramontana(with Anthony Embiricos, David Jamison and V Aguilar) beat Hildon House
1989 – Tramontana(with Anthony Embiricos, David Jamison and V Aguilar) beat Cowdray Park
1991 – Tramontana(with Anthony Embiricos, Adolfo Cambiaso and Adam Buchanan) beat Ellerston White
1994 – Ellerston Black(with Jamie Packer, Roberto Gonzales and Oliver Taylor) beat Pegasus
1995 – Ellerston White(with Kerry Packer, Gonzalo Pieres and Oliver Hipwood) beat Black Bears
1997 – Labegorce(with Hubert Perrodo, Javier Novillo Astrada and Jamie Le Hardy) beat Isla Carroll
Carlos won the Argentine Open from 1987 to 1990 with La Espadaña and in 1994 with Ellerstina. His nine US Open wins, some with his brother Memo, were between 1982 and 2003.
www.polotimes.co.uk July 2010 15 X
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