The 2009 Harcourt Developments Queen’s Cup Tournament offered three weeks of passionate and fast paced play from 18 talented, high-goal teams.  Appropriately, the final was no exception either.  The almost all-English Apes Hill team took the honours, but only after a thrilling and sometimes tense final against Sumaya on The Queen’s Ground at Guards Polo Club that went into extra time. Regardless of the result though, both teams should take pride in their style of play that was a pleasure to watch and kept the packed stands glued to their seats.

Luke Tomlinson might have led Sir Charles “Cow” Williams’s team to victory, but it was his younger team-mate, Charlie Hanbury who scored the winning goal in a seventh chukka.  Sumaya had two good chances to score in this extra time but failed to capitalise on these opportunities. However Hanbury kept it together and produced the winning shot through the goal to give Apes Hill their first Queen’s Cup victory in their third year of trying.

Oussama Aboughazale’s Sumaya had been keen to go one better than last year – when they took the runners-up spot – and had improved their pony power. The red shirts had also impressed all throughout the league stages of the tournament, much of it due to some great play from the two young stars of the team, Hilario Ulloa - who had even found time during the fourth chukka of the final to bat a balloon off the field with a great display of aerial polo – and the South African, Ignus Du Plessi.  The latter was rewarded with the Most Valuable Player Award, which he received from HM The Queen.

Du Plessi also stepped up to receive the Best Playing Pony Award, sponsored by The Polo Magazine and Pommery, for an eight-year-old mare that he had played in the second and sixth chukkas. There was a Best Retrained Racehorse Award too, which went to a 13-year-old bay mare which had been played by Luke Tomlinson in the fifth chukka.

The final itself was hard to call throughout the match.  Apes Hill opened the scoring but Sumaya immediately came back so that the scores were level 2-2 at the end of the first. This was the format for the rest of the game and only once – in the third chukka – did Apes Hill have a two-goal advantage. In the final two chukkas, Sumaya were the team more frequently ahead, but Apes Hill never lost their focus – even when Tomlinson sent a penalty wide in the fifth which would have seen them draw level once more.

Mark Tomlinson revealed in the post match press conference that Apes Hill were not surprised that the game when into extra time. “We had talked about an extra chukka because we knew that the game was going to be close as Sumaya are a strong team and well organised.”

Both patrons agreed though that they wished they were a few years younger as it was much more stressful watching the game from the grandstand than playing in it.  Oussama Aboughazale, who was generous in defeat, praising Apes Hill for their style of play, added that he looked forward to beating them in next month’s Gold Cup!   The camaraderie between these teams reflected the general mood of the tournament which had been one of good natured rivalry.

The Harcourt Developments Queen’s Cup Final Day had started with the subsidiary tournament.  This seemed to set the pattern for the day. After a thrilling battle on The Duke’s Ground, George Milford Haven’s Broncos narrowly ran out the winners, defeating Jean Francois Decaux’s La Bamba De Areco team 12-11.

Apes Hill: Charlie Hanbury (3); Mark Tomlinson (6); Juan Gris Zavaleta (6); Luke Tomlinson (7).

Sumaya: Ahmad Aboughazale (1); Hilario Ulloa (7); Milo Fernandez Araujo (8); Ignus Du Plessis (6).

Broncos: Max Routledge (3); Santiago Chavanne (8); Pablo MacDonough (10); George Milford Haven (1). 

La Bamba De Areco: Jean Francois Decaux (0); Gonzalito Pieres (10); Facundo Pieres (10); Tomas Garbarini (1).