THE foremost Lagos Polo Club, ended the year 2010 on high as the Santa Cup Tournament took centre stage on Boxing Day.
The high profile event that attracted a capacity crowd to the legendary Ribadu Road polo theatre in Ikoyi brought down the curtain as the last tournament of the year.
The highly successfully one day event that pitted four equally matched low-goal teams  comprising an exciting mix of established names and upcoming players, was the highlight of the club’s Boxing Day celebration.
Santa Cup debut that threw up an exciting competition and a fun filled evening for the club members and their families as well as invited guests, followed on the heels of the recently concluded Lagos Captain’s Cup tournament which was decided over two weekends, with eight low-goal  teams battling for honours.
Lagos Keffi parading Robert Toumajean, Edmund Higenbottam, Obafemi Otudeko and Ahamdu Umar won the Captain’s Cup, while Lagos Obalende boasting Bowale Jolaoso, Bode Makanjuola and Jamilu Mohammed, finished runners-up. The only female player in the Captain’s Cup cracker, Toyin Martins, helped her Lagos Victoria Island side to win the subsidiary PMC Cup; just as Ayo Olashoju led Lagos Apapa carted home the PMC runners-up prize.
Some of the notable names who vied for honours during the Santa Cup event include, Ayo Olashoju, Bode Makanjuola, Muyiwa Sonubi, Musty Fasinro, Osaro Giwa-Osagie, Adamu Yaro, Sahabi Tukur, Ali Saffiedene and Lukman Adebayo.
Others are Bashir Dantata (Jnr.) Tunde Karim, Khinde Soyannwo, Yinka Alakija, Tajudeen Saro, Yemo Alakija and the vastly improved Kayode Awogboro.
At the end of the Boxing Day rumble, Super Sleighs out paced others to make history as the inaugural champions of the debuting Santa Cup. The top shooting Super Sleighs led by the all rounder Adamu Yaro,  defeated the hard fighting Mustie Fasinro propelled Mistle Toes 2-1 in the final to carry the day.
Super Sleighs parading Muyiwa Sonubi, Osaro Giwa- Osagie and Kayode Awogboro that scored the first goal of the tournament, had earlier defeated Fire Crackers featuring Ayo Olashoju, Tunde karim, Lukman Adebayo and Sahabi Tukur in the opening game to pick the final ticket, Mistle Toes quartet of Tajudeen Saro, Yemo Alakija, Kehinde Soyannwo and Mustie Fashinro that clashed with Reindeers in the second game of the day, were lucky to snatch the final ticket ahead of Reindeers whose defender, Ali Saffeidene was injured in the second chukker of the game, leaving Yinka Alakija, Bode Makanjuola and Bashir Dantata (Jnr.) without cover for the rest of the crunch game.
The final game which was decided over two sudden death chukkers was a fiercely fought game that kept the capacity crowd cheering from start to finish.
Papa Polo, Adedapo Ojora was as his masters self on the commentary pumping up every second of the final to the delight of the crowd.  Former President of Ibadan Polo Club, Dr. Asumi and Lagos Polo President, Dolapo Akinrele were on hand to decorate the winners and the runners-up during the Prize Presentation where all the participating players went home glittering Santa Gold Cup souvenirs.
The presentation ceremony was followed by the usual the annual Xmas party that last well into the early hours of the next day.
According to Bode Makanjuola who is the secretary of the Polo Management Committee and the Grounds Member, The Santa Cup Tournament which was funded by contributions from members, is planned as an annual fixture on the club’s calendar, to mark the Xmas Holidays.
Apart from celebrating the yuletide season, the Santa Cup which was well received by both the players and the crowd is an exciting addition to the series of local competitions hosted annually by the highbrow polo club.
Together with the Captain’s Cup and the President’s Cup, these three events come in handy for Lagos players who throng these exclusive tournaments in their droves as part of the long build up for major Nigerian Polo Federation (NPF) sanctioned tournaments scheduled for early next year.
The build up that would concluded with the forthcoming President Cup scheduled to galloped off this weekend, usually help to put both the players and the ponies in their best competitive shapes as they hit the road for the Niger delta Polo Festival in Port Harcourt and the Ibadan annual tournament, before returning to their Ribadu Road base for the Lagos International Polo Tournament.
Powered by MTN, the Lagos international festival that usually attracts scores of professional players from Argentina, Europe and South Africa, remains one of the biggest polo events in the continent and one of the only four polo Grand Slams in the country.
Other top grade international tournaments that boast comparable credentials both in the caliber of players, cutting edge competition and the colour and pomp of the crowd, are the Kaduna international tournament, Kano international tournament and the Katsina international tournament that  traditionally gallops-off the polo season in Nigeria.