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Rude Boy Polo Wins Triple Crown of Polo
Cecilia Cochran becomes first female player to put her name on the coveted TCP trophy
Sarasota, FL – Cecilia Cochran's Rude Boy Polo defeated Julia Cook's Alazana/MGA
Insurance 12-10 in the finals of the Robert A. Uihlein Jr. Memorial Trophy played out in
front of a record crowd of spectators at the Sarasota Polo Club at Lakewood Ranch
calculated by the local paper to be 5000. The game was filmed for ESPN 2 as the
opening leg of the 2007 Triple Crown of Polo series sponsored by Lexus and will air on
June 23rd on ESPN2 at 1pm ET.
Cochran, 35 from Palm Beach, whose grandfather, Michael Phipps, was a 10-goal player
in the 1930s, started playing polo five years ago and as patron of the Rude Boy team
becomes the first female player to win the Triple Crown of Polo. At Sunday's trophy
presentation she was given the signatory Triple Crown of Polo purple winners' jacket
custom made by Alan Flusser of New York. Her team line up included her boyfriend
Ka'aina DeCoite from Hawaii and Argentina's Ruben Coscia and Guille Aguero.
A pre-game highlight at the finals was an appearance by the Budweiser Clydesdales
while the field side Polo Pavilion featured Lexus's presentation of their new LS600hl, the
world's first full-sized luxury hybrid sedan.
Both finals teams were faced with last minute line up changes – Pelon Escapite, taking
the place of Francisco Bilbao for Alazana and Aguero coming in to replace Sugar Erskine
in the Rude Boy team. "I'm very happy to be here," Aguero told the ESPN camera crew
as he put his boots on before the finals. "I know Sugar well and we talked a little bit
about the way the team plays before I came here." While Aguero filled Erskine's shoes,
it was Coscia who played his socks off for Rude Boy to win the MVP award as well as
take home the Best Playing Pony prize for his mare ‘Georgia'. "It's been a great season,"
said Coscia, who has played all winter with Rude Boy Polo's Cochran and 2-goal
DeCoite, winning the Sunday January 12-goal league and the Friday January and
February 12-goal leagues at the Sarasota Polo Club.
The winners' names will be engraved for posterity on the Triple Crown of Polo trophy, a
solid silver work of art, handmade by Tiffany & Co. and called "the most magnificent
trophy in all of sport," by famous artist LeRoy Neiman. The tape of the game will be
distributed on the ESPN 2 and ESPN International networks, reaching more than196
countries in twelve different languages.
Next stop for the Triple Crown of Polo will be the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club
for the finals of the Pacific Coast Open on Sunday August 26th and then the New Bridge
Polo and Country Club in Aiken, SC for the conclusion of this year's series on Saturday
September 22.
About Triple Crown of Polo
The Triple Crown of Polo (TCP) is the first multi-market tournament series in the sport's history and provides sponsors a unique opportunity to reach the loyal fans of world class polo competitions. ESPN has an exclusive agreement for coverage of the TCP across multiple ESPN outlets, including domestic and international television rights. TCP sponsors for 2006 include Tiffany & Co.; Lexus; CurtCo Media, publishers of the Robb Report and Worth magazines; Wachovia Securities; Yamaha; Reunion Resorts; Alan Flusser Custom, and The Cliffs Communities; rated among America's Top 10 Golf Communities by Travel + Leisure Golf Magazine. LeRoy Neiman, the most popular living artist in the United States, has been named the Official Artist of the Triple Crown of Polo.
For more information, visit www.triplecrownofpolo.com
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