Sebastián Merlo .

Carlos Gracida

Miguel Novillo Astrada

Mike Azzaro

Adam Snow

Lolo Castagnola

Javier Novillo Astrada

Mariano Aguerre

In polo’s version of the all-star game, eight of the world’s best players got together and put on a fantastic show while raising about $275,000 for sick and injured polo players.

Memo Gracida, 9 goals, wears a black and white striped shirt and a whistle.		The Outback 40-goal Challenge trophy.
Champagne for the halftime divot stomp is delivered in style, with Hummers.
Bombay Sapphire discusses strategy at halftime. Lolo Castagnola, third from left, filled in for a sick Adolfo Cambiaso.
Auctioneer Tony Coppola and event organizer Dave Offen	Jimmy Newman looks for bidders.		Leo Mandelbaum and fiance Olexa Celine.

Bombay Sapphire defeated Crab Orchard 8-7 to win the Outback 40- Goal Challenge February 19 at International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida, in front of a seasonhigh 3,267 spectators.

This is only the sixth time that two 40- goal polo teams have played each other in the United States. Previous matches were held in 2000 and 2002-2004 at Royal Palm Polo Sports Club in Boca Raton, Florida, and in 1990 at Empire Polo Club in California. There was also a 40-goal match in 1975 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Proceeds from the gate, a VIP dinner as well as a silent and live auction benefits the Polo Players Support Group, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization that was created to provide financial assistance to seriously injured or ill polo players or grooms.

Last year the group gave financial help to Rob Walton, who was paralyzed in a polo accident in 1995 in Brunei; Justin Pimsner, who was seriously injured in an automobile accident in 2002; Ruben Repollo, who suffered life-threatening stab wounds in 2002; and Sebastian Bonorino, who has liver disease. The group has helped several others since it was founded in 2001.

The group’s chief and founder, Dave Offen, said 2004 was a healthy and safe yearyear for polo players. “We don’t want to have anybody sick or injured, but it’s inevitable given the nature of the sport,” Offen said. “Luckily we didn’t have any real serious injuries or illnesses last year.

“Our rough guidelines are that they will miss at least four months of work. Meaning that we don’t help every broken collar bone or broken arm.”

Offen aims to pay out 65 percent of the money raised each year and retain 35 percent to keep in a growth fund. Eventually the group would support players from interest earned off of the growth fund. After everyone was paid last year, there remained about $140,000 in reserve. For further information or if you would like to make a donation or set up a charity event for PPSG, contact Offen at (516) 528-3821.

Offen said more good fortune will come to the Polo Players Support Group when Tim Gannon will dedicate to it a founder’s roast fund-raiser. Offen said it’s a $500-aplate affair and he expects it to raise a lot of money. “I suspect it’s going to be quite substantial,” Offen said.

Offen said he will hold more polo fundraisers this year, including at Houston Polo Club; in the Washington, D.C., area; and at the Arranmore Polo Club in Oswego, Illinois. “Tim Gannon has generously offered Outback Steakhouse to provide the food for any of these clubs that do a benefit for us,” Offen said. Half of the proceeds go to a local charity and half to the Polo Players Support Group.

Outback owner and founder Gannon is an avid polo player.

At the 40-goal game, Offen said VIP tables with boxes went for $2,500, but several sponsors doubled their donation to $5,000. “As each year goes by, we get a few more people who give us a nice, extra donation,” Offen said.

“We got support from our regular polo faithful, but we got support from a lot of new names on checks. We got support from the horse show crowd, and we had some nice support from the non-poloplaying members” of International Polo Club, he added.

As for the match, Offen said, “It was a really competitive, hard-fought game.” Spectators were treated to a fast-paced game, featuring long passes, excellent ball control and superb defense.

Lolo Castagnola, who was called two hours before the game to substitute for his good friend Adolfo Cambiaso, was named the MVP. Cambiaso, generally acknowledged as the best player in the world and who was MVP of the 2004 match, could not play because he was sick. “It was not hard to play because everybody knows how,” said Castagnola. “I was in the stables when Adolfo called and said ‘I have the flu, play for me.’ I am very happy.”

Castagnola’s first goal, with 5:16 left in the third chukker, gave Bombay Sapphire a 4-2 lead. His second goal, with 1:14 remaining in the fourth chukker, put Bombay Sapphire ahead 6-5. Castagnola finished the chukker by making a key defensive stop.

Auctioning off the players shirts in a live auction is a fun way to help raise funds.	Mini-donkeys brought in $6,300 in the auction.
Bombay Sapphire’ s Javier Novillo Astrada, Adam Snow, MVP Lolo Castagnola and Mariano Aguerre took the win in one of the best 40-goal games played in the United States.

Carlos Gracida scored on a breakaway to tie the game at 6-6 with 4:37 left in the fifth chukker. Both teams missed scoring opportunities throughout the chukker.

Adam Snow scored on a 30-yard penalty shot with 5:45 left in the game to give Bombay Sapphire a 7-6 advantage. Snow clinched the game with a 10-yard back shot with 2:03 remaining. Bombay Sapphire controlled the ball in the final minutes.

At 44, Carlos Gracida was the oldest player in the game. He scored two goals for Crab Orchard.

“It became more and more serious as the game went on,” said Gracida, who participated in his third 40-goal contest.

“It was fun. It was better than in previous years. The teams were better organized and there were better horses.”

Gracida said he wasn’t surprised that the final score wasn’t higher.

“You had to work to score,” said Gracida. “You were never free; you were always marked by a 10-goaler.”

Javier Novillo Astrada led Bombay Sapphire with three goals, while Castagnola and Snow added two goals apiece and Mariano Aguerre had one goal. Azzaro scored his fourth goal with four seconds remaining for the final margin.

Sebastian Merlos added one goal while Miguel Novillo Astrada did not score for Crab Orchard.

Major sponsors included Outback Steakhouse, Bombay Sapphire, Crab Orchard, Carrabba’s, Michelob Ultra, Bud Light Polo, Brown Distributing, Bessemer Trust, Polo Gear, Chukker Collection, the Tackeria, Lady Walton Cookies and Kendall-Jackson wines.

Items in the silent auction included a polo vacation in Costa Careyes, Mexico, which a group from Toronto Polo Club bought for $13,000; two miniature donkeys, which brought in $6,300 after fierce bidding; Heidi Birath’s drawing of the eight players from the previous year’s 40-goal match; two beautiful bracelets from an estate, donated by an anonymous polo player, which brought in $5,300; a duck hunt at Elleau Farm, donated by Adolphus Busch, which brought in $5,000; and a quail hunt at Escape Ranch, donated by Orrin Ingram and Peter Johnston, which brought in $4,000. Other auction items included a trip on a Bombardier jet and an African safari donated by the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

“What is important to note is the generosity of these people,” Offen said. Offen was particularly grateful to MVP Castagnola, who stepped in to play at the last minute, but he also expressed gratitude to all of the players. “I’d like to convey just how grateful I am to all of the players who played in the game,” he said. “The players, their hearts are in the right place for Rob and for all those other people who are injured or ill.”