Clinton cracks it on debut Report Duke of Sutherland Cup
Spencer McCarthy’s brother kicks off his 18-goal campaign with victory over the defending Victor Ludorum champs at Cowdray, says Liz Higgins
C
owdray Park welcomed seven teams for the start of this season’s Duke of Sutherland Cup in late May. They produced three weeks of fierce competition, as
each patron and his side fought to lift the large piece of silverware in mid-June and find space for it in their trophy cabinet.
There was plenty of expectation ahead of the final, after two high scoring semi-finals where Black Bears and Emlor booked their place in the final with victories over Adrian Kirby’s Silver Spring side and Paul Oberschneider’s La Golondrina respectively. Black Bears won last year’s Julius Baer Victor Ludorum 18-goal, and were honoured for their achievement just days before the start of the Duke of Sutherland at the Audi Polo Awards in London. They made a good start to their defence of the title in 2010, winning the first 18-goal
tournament of the new season, the Indian Empire Shield (see below right). However, their luck ran out against Clinton McCarthy’s Emlor, who were playing their first tournament of the season at 18-goal level. Despite leading 6-4 after three of the five chukkas, with fine goals from John Paul Clarkin,
“We had great team spirit and made sure everyone kept cool in the second half” – Clinton McCarthy
Simon Keyte and Matt Perry, Black Bears produced a lacklustre second half to let Emlor back into the contest.
They gave far too many penalties to Emlor’s Joachim Pittaluga, who made them pay, and
Emlor eventually ran out comfortable winners in a dramatic turnaround, 9-7.
“I played 12-goal last season,” explained a beaming Clinton McCarthy. “So I’m delighted with my first crack at 18 goal. We had a great team spirit and I just made sure everyone kept cool through the second half so we got the result we wanted.”
The Duke of Sutherland Cup was this year presented to the winners Emlor by the late John Cowdray’s daughter, the Hon Mrs Lucy Fraser. The Duke himself was a friend from student days at Oxford of John Cowdray, the fourth Viscount, and presented his pal with a magnificent cup for Cowdray Park Polo Club on his retirement from polo in 1952, at a time when John Cowdray was overseeing the post-war revival of the game at the club. The Cup has remained an early-season favourite ever since. F
L-r: Nacho Gonzalez, Joaquin Pittaluga, Hissam Ali Hyder and Clinton McCarthy
46 July 2010
www.polotimes.co.uk
Photographs by Tony Ramirez & Neil Egerton/
www.imagesofpolo.com
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