Polo breaking down barriers amid Magic Millions track drama

The Magic Millions polo day is bringing in new audiences, going ahead without a hitch after the event’s inaugural twilight race had to be shifted when a large section of the track appeared to be poisoned.

Zara Tindall and Delfina Blaquier in action during the Magic Millions Polo. Picture by Luke Marsden

It’s known as the Sport of Kings, and indeed there was a touch of real royalty on the polo pitch on the Gold Coast on Sunday, but it was an everyman’s game on the turf and in the stands.

And that’s the intent, with the sport, and its boosters in Australia and overseas, determined to break down the perceived barriers separating polo from the masses.

The Magic Millions polo day, held every January since 2017, has been integral to the local effort, with crowds growing yearly, bringing in new audiences eager to see what this kingly sport is all about.

It helps when the organisers, led by Magic Millions co-owners Katie Page and Gerry Harvey, bring in famous faces such as royal Zara Tindall, rugby league great Billy Slater and Argentine Nacho Figueras, the world’s most famous polo player, to spruik the spectacle and participate.

That the polo and showjumping went off without a hitch on Sunday was a relief for organisers after the inaugural Magic Millions twilight race meet on Saturday had to be shifted 200km north to the Sunshine Coast after a large section of the track appeared to be poisoned.

Police are investigating the incident, which some feared may have been deliberate.

Organisers were looking at ways to fix the track in time for this Saturday’s race meet, including the option of replacing the dying grass with a new section turf, similar to the process used for a “drop-in” cricket pitch.

Ally Mowley competing in the Magic Millions Showjumping and Polo. Picture by Luke Marsden

The polo field at Doug Jennings Park on the Southport Spit was unaffected and punters turned out by the thousands to get caught up in the polo hype.

“This has grown from a small ‘Let’s have a polo day’ project to what you see now – a very fun and popular event which keeps growing,” Figueras said.

“People say polo is a sport played by kings, but I don’t see it as a wall –I see it as a bridge that has enabled a guy from Argentina to play polo and become friends with people like Zara.

“I don’t see it as something that’s exclusive, I see it as a way to connect people from different parts of the world. It’s a leveller.”

It also led Figueras, who grew up on a middle-class family farm near Buenos Aires, to become close friends with polo teammate Prince Harry.

That friendship, and the desire to break down the barriers, led Fig­ueras to sign up as associate producer on the Duke of Sussex’s Netflix documentary series Polo.

He hopes the series will help generate exposure for the sport in the same way Drive to Survive did for Formula 1. “The whole idea was to grow the exposure pie,” Fig­ueras said.

It seems to have paid off, with several people in the crowd telling Figueras they were there because of an interest sparked by the TV series. “Someone was telling me today that their Uber driver dropping them here had just watched it and that makes me happy, that’s a win to me,” he said.

Now a combined polo and showjumping spectacle, the Sunday before the Magic Millions sales carnival has become one of the biggest events of its kind in the country in terms of crowd numbers and prize money.

Delfina Blaquier competed in the Magic Millions Polo match. Picture by Luke Marsden

It has introduced the sport to a wider audience that otherwise may have viewed what happens inside the banner-lined fences around the park as something for the rich and famous.

Figueras’s wife, Delfina Blaquier, who has played in the Magic Millions celebrity polo match since 2019, said the next barrier to break down for the sport was gender-based. “Whether you’re a man or a woman, you’re the same on top of a horse,” Blaquier said. “(It) doesn’t care.”

“Polo is one of the few sports where you can have a mixed team.

“Katie (Page) has always been a big supporter of women and women in horse racing and through the Magic Millions polo and showjumping we have been able to show big crowds what women can do on a horse.

“I think polo is very un­explored right now, and I hope the Netflix series can really help, especially for women in polo.”