International Polo Club Palm Beach Florida

Top-seeded Las Monjitas, No. 7 Orchard Hill Advance to Final of
Stanford U.S. Open This Sunday at International Polo Club

Top-seeded Las Monjitas, No. 7 Orchard Hill Advance to Final of
Stanford U.S. Open This Sunday at International Polo Club

WELLINGTON, FL (April 19, 2006) – Top-seeded Las Monjitas continued to live up to its ranking and Orchard Hill continued to surprise teams, as each registered victories in the semifinals of the 26-goal Stanford U.S. Open Polo Championship Wednesday at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

Las Monjitas, which translates to “the little nuns”, defeated Mokarow Farms 8-4 in the first semifinal while Orchard Hill beat Pony Express 14-12.

The championship game of the prestigious Stanford U.S. Open presented by Bombardier is set for Sunday at 3 p.m. on Stanford Field at International Polo Club. Club officials are anticipating a crowd in excess of 8,000 spectators, the largest in the brief three-year history of the facility.

This is the first appearance in the U.S. Open final for Las Monjitas, which had never advanced past the quarterfinals before this year.

“I never dreamt about this,” said Las Monjitas’ patron, 49-year-old Camilo Bautista, who has been playing high-goal polo for nine years, mostly with Eduardo Novillo Astrada. “When we won the (C.V.) Whitney the first year (2003) in Palm Beach, we kept looking at the U.S. Open as something far away.

“Eduardo and Nacho (Novillo Astrada) have very good chemistry with Adam (Snow). I give them a lot of courage. I think we are God’s team, the nuns. I think it’s fantastic to be in the final. We’re going to fight for it.”

The game was delayed several times, the first for 13 minutes after a collision that sent teammates Temy Willington and Kevin Mokarow of Mokarow Farms sprawling. Willington was able to continue but 15-year-old Carlitos Gracida substituted for Mokarow, who re-aggravated a groin injury, with 4:18 left in the third chukker and Las Monjitas leading 3-2. However, Las Monjitas was awarded a goal on the play to take a 4-2 advantage.

Adam Snow knocked in a forehand to give Las Monjitas a 5-2 lead with 2:51 left in the first half and then missed a breakaway 90 seconds later.

In the fourth chukker neither team scored, although 9-goaler Memo Gracida missed a 30-yard penalty shot with 2:33 left. Gracida cut the margin to 5-3 with 4:31 left but Nacho Novillo Astrada scored on a breakaway to make it 6-3 with 3:49 remaining.

The game was delayed a second time when Memo Gracida was ejected with 53 seconds left in the fifth chukker for unsportsmanlike conduct. Mokarow Farms was forced to play 4-on-3 for the remainder of the chukker. It was the second consecutive year that 16-time U.S. Open champion Memo Gracida was ejected in the U.S. Open semifinal.

When the team could not find a 9-goal substitute in between chukkers to replace Memo Gracida, 5-goaler Julio Gracida, Memo’s 18-year-old son who won the U.S. Open title last year, took the field in his father’s place.

Mokarow’s Carlos Gracida converted a 60-yard penalty with 4:07 left in the game to cut the margin to 7-4, but Snow made a 30-yard penalty with 1:55 remaining to round out the scoring.

Snow, who won the U.S. Open in 2002, led Las Monjitas with five goals while Eduardo Novillo Astrada and Nacho Novillo Astrada scored one goal apiece. Bautista did not score.

Carlos Gracida, a 9-time U.S. Open champion, led Mokarow Farms with three goals and Memo Gracida added one goal.

Orchard Hill advanced to the final for the third time in six years.

“We’re not there yet,” said Orchard Hill patron Steve Van Andel, whose teams also played in the U.S. Open final in 2002 and 2001. “We have one more game to get through. Las Monjitas is a tough team. We’ve got our work cut out for ourselves.”

This is Galindo’s second trip to the U.S. Open final, having lost the 1987 championship game as a member of Los Potros.

“It’s been a long time waiting,” said Galindo. “It feels great.”

There were eight ties and Pony Express only led twice, the last time at 12-11 on Piki Alberdi’s goal 29 seconds into the final chukker.

Orchard Hill tied the game at 12-12 on a 30-yard penalty shot by Paco de Narvaez with 3:29 remaining. Sixty-four seconds later, de Narvaez passed to Jeff Hall, who passed to a wide-open Galindo in front of the goal as Orchard Hill took a 13-12 lead.
De Narvaez scored on a breakaway with 1:21 left in the game, despite the efforts of Bautista Heguy, to round out the scoring. Pony Express did not get off a shot in the final minute.

Hall added four goals for Orchard Hill and Galindo finished with three goals. Van Andel did not score.

Pancho Bensadon led Pony Express with five goals, Bautista Heguy scored four goals and Alberdi added three goals. Patron Bob Daniels did not score.

Historically, the U.S. Open has always been the grand prize of polo in North America. It is one of only four tournaments played at the 26-goal echelon, the highest-rated tournament in the United States. The others are the Hall of Fame Cup and the C.V. Whitney Cup, both also played at International Polo Club Palm Beach in 2006, and the USPA Gold Cup, being played in Aiken, South Carolina later this year.

The first U.S. Open title game was played in 1904 at Van Cortland Park in New York City where the Wanderers defeated the Freebooters 4 ½-3, the lowest scoring final in the history of the tournament.

The polo matches at International Polo Club are open to the public. General admission for the Sunday games at International Polo Club Palm Beach is $15 for adults and reserved lawn tickets are $40. Children under 12 enter for free. Tickets may be purchased at the gate on the day of the game.

International Polo Club Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South, between Pierson Road and Lake Worth Road in Wellington. For information, directions or ticket purchases, please call the club at (561) 204-5687 or visit the website at www.internationalpoloclub.com.

Stanford U.S. Open Schedule
Championship Match

Sunday 3 p.m. Las Monjitas vs. Orchard Hill

International Polo Club
Palm Beach

Tournament Schedule

News & Game Results

Game Schedule & Team Line-ups

Photos by David Lominska

Contact Info:

For ticket information, call (561) 204-5687

Club website at www.internationalpoloclub.com.

For information about the upcoming 2005 high-goal season, including the Stanford Financial Group U.S. Open, call the club at (561) 204-5687

International Polo Club Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South, between Pierson Road and Lake Worth Road, in Wellington.