Dubai Claims Fifth Copa De Oro Title At Sotogrande
Dubai Wins The Final 16-9
Dubai secured a fifth Copa de Oro Ayala Polo Club title on 29 August 2026, defeating Sainte Mesme 16-9 in the high-goal final at Los Pinos Ground 3, Ayala Polo Club, Sotogrande. The organisation founded by Ali Albwardy became champions again, extending a run that had begun with the team's first Sotogrande success in 2015.
The Copa de Oro Ayala Polo Club was played over six chukkas at Los Pinos Ground 3, where Dubai's Gonzalo Entrecanales, Pedro Chavanne, Gonzalo Ferrari and Bartolome Castagnola Jr. combined for 22 goals against Sainte Mesme's Kristos Magrini, Ned Hine, Carlos Maria Ulloa and Robert Strom. Gonzalo Ferrari was named MVP of the final, while Ve Ocho Monet, ridden by Pedro Chavanne, took the Best Playing Pony award and Dubai Mamma Mia, ridden by Ferrari, was named Best Polo Argentino Bred by the Argentine Polo Pony Breeders Association.
Sainte Mesme stayed within touch of Dubai through the opening exchanges, closing the first chukka only a goal down at 4-3. Dubai took control of the game from the second chukka onward, leading 7-4 at the break and 9-6 at half-time, before extending the margin to 11-6 by the end of the fourth chukka and 13-7 after the fifth, closing out the final 16-9, with Sainte Mesme continuing to compete to the final bell.
Pedro Chavanne, at only 16 years old, played a leading role for Dubai throughout the final, his form alongside Ferrari proving decisive for the team. Umpires Martin Aguerre and Gaston Lucero officiated the final, with Federico Martelli serving as third man.
Sainte Mesme Reach Their First Final
For the French entrant, the occasion marked new territory on the biggest stage the Sotogrande circuit offers, with Sainte Mesme playing their first ever high-goal Copa de Oro final in Sotogrande.
The result marked a third Copa de Oro success for Bartolome Castagnola Jr., whose return to Dubai's colours followed a three-year absence from the team, and the second of his three Sotogrande titles with the club. For Gonzalo Ferrari and Pedro Chavanne, it was their first.
The squad's blend of youth and established high-goal experience proved decisive across the tournament's later stages, with Dubai's attacking output climbing steadily from round to round on the way to the title.
The win extended Dubai's Copa de Oro roll of honour to five titles at the same Sotogrande venue, following the team's opening triumph in 2015 under different colours and personnel, underlining how the operation founded by Ali Albwardy has refreshed its playing squad across more than a decade while continuing to compete for the tournament's biggest prize.
The final brought the 55th Torneo Internacional de Polo ATL to a close, a tournament run across several weeks of competition on the Los Pinos grounds at Ayala Polo Club in Sotogrande. The Copa de Oro triumph closed out Dubai's high-goal campaign in Sotogrande for the 2026 European season, standing as the team's most significant result of the Spanish summer.
Dubai reached the 29 August 2026 final by beating Brunei Polo Team in the semi-finals on 25 August 2026, while Sainte Mesme built a 7-3 lead by the end of the third chukka in their own semi-final against La Dolfina Marques de Riscal and held off a fightback to reach their first Alto Handicap Copa de Oro Ayala Polo Club final. Sainte Mesme had previously won the Copa de Oro at Mediano Handicap level in 2020, with Carlos Maria Ulloa the only player in their line-up with prior experience of lifting the Alto Handicap trophy, having done so playing for Dubai in 2022.
Bartolome Castagnola Jr. and Sainte Mesme's Carlos Maria Ulloa finished the week as the tournament's leading scorers, with 31 goals each across the event, a measure of the standard both sides had to overcome to reach the final.
Five Titles Now For Dubai
Dubai's five Copa de Oro Ayala Polo Club titles have now come in 2015, a 12-10 win over Lechuza Caracas, 2016, a 12-7 win over Ayala, 2022, a 12-9 win over Marques de Riscal, 2023, a 9-8 win over MB Polo, and 2026, the 16-9 win over Sainte Mesme, a run built around different playing squads across more than a decade under Albwardy's ownership.
The same evening's card also settled the tournament's other divisions, with Vamos Korea beating Santa Quiteria 12-8 to win the Low Handicap title, while P1 Cars El Bambu had already secured the Medium Handicap trophy on the Friday, beating ATL Polo Team 14-11.