Balanz Capital were crowned champions of the Cartier Queen's Cup after beating Aureus 17-7 in the final played on Sunday 14 June at Guards Polo Club, in Windsor Great Park. Claudio Porcel's side thus completed a flawless campaign: they lifted the trophy without losing a single match throughout the competition, in what was their first-ever appearance in the tournament.
The match had a single master from early on. After a first chukker tied at 2-2, Balanz Capital took a slender lead in the second and, from the third onwards, turned into an unstoppable machine. By half-time they were already in command at 10-5, and the scoreboard kept ticking over —11-5, 15-6— until the final 17-7.
The engine behind that rout was the partnership of Camilo "Jeta" Castagnola and Lorenzo Chavanne. Between them they scored fifteen goals: eight from the young Chavanne and seven from Castagnola, who was also named Most Valuable Player of the final and who lifted the Queen's Cup for the second time in his career.
At just 18, Chavanne confirmed an extraordinary season by adding his first Queen's Cup. The forward had already won the 2026 USPA Gold Cup and the US Open of the Gauntlet of Polo in Palm Beach, both alongside Camilo Castagnola with Pilot, and in England he claimed the Trippetts Challenge —also with Balanz— before this crown. Porcel's team had reached the decider after a dramatic finish in the semi-finals: they edged Dubai Polo Team 12-11, with a decisive Chavanne penalty in extra chukker.
The championship line-up was completed by Claudio Porcel (0) and Ned Hine (5), both first-time winners of this tournament, for a 22-goal total. On the other side, Aureus lined up Jake Coventry (2), Mark Tomlinson (5), Diego Cavanagh (8) and Teo Lacau (7).
The final also carried an emotional charge for Aureus. Their patron, Sunjay Kapur, died almost a year ago during a Queen's Cup match on that very ground; his widow, Priya Sachdev Kapur, supported the team from the stands. Although they fell short of the title, the side put together a solid campaign that carried them all the way to the decider.
On the horse front, the Best Playing Pony award in the final went to Machitos Mamushka, ridden by Camilo Castagnola.
For its part, the Subsidiary went to Akasha, who beat Gaston 10-9.
The high-goal circuit continues straight away with the Warwickshire Cup at Cirencester Park Polo Club, in Gloucestershire, one of the oldest polo clubs in England, founded in 1894 by the Seventh Earl of Bathurst. The traditional tournament gets underway this Monday 15 June and runs until Saturday 20, the scheduled date for the final. The competing sides are Monterosso, Thai Polo, Lovelocks Polo Stud and Jindal Steel La Dolfina.
With the Queen's Cup now wrapped up, the season's other showpiece arrives from Tuesday 23 June with the British Open for the Cowdray Gold Cup, the most prestigious event at Cowdray Park Polo Club. It will run until 19 July at the West Sussex club. There, the leading high-goal teams will regroup once more —18 sides in all— in pursuit of the British Open title. A truly spectacular outlook for a summer of elite polo.
