JAIPUR- St. Regis Hotels & Resorts has partnered for the first time with Rajasthan Polo Club, Jaipur to sponsor the Maharaja Bhawani Singh St. Regis Cup 2015. The brand will also host a separate polo match inspired by the Family Traditions at St. Regis program, featuring St. Regis Connoisseur Nacho Figueras and his son Hilario, against Maharaj Narendra Singh and his son HH Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur, in what promises to be a spectacular day of polo.

“We are pleased to support polo for the first time in India,” said Paul James, Global Brand Leader, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, and W Hotels Worldwide. “We look forward to offering St. Regis guests, spectators and their families the opportunity to experience this exhilarating sport here in India, as we have done around the world from Bangkok to Buenos Aires and from Abu Dhabi to Aspen.”

Commenting on the event, Maharaj Narendra Singh said:  “It is a matter of great pride and celebration that St. Regis Hotels & Resorts has partnered with the Rajasthan Polo Club, Jaipur to sponsor the Maharaja Bhawani Singh St. Regis Polo Cup 2015. This will have a long lasting effect in popularizing the glamorous sport of polo. I am personally grateful to the St. Regis brand for their magnanimous sponsorship and hope that this is the beginning of a long and lasting partnership between them and the Rajasthan Polo Club, Jaipur. My son HH Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur and I are eagerly looking forward to playing with Nacho Figueras and his son Hilario and it promises to be a keenly contested match. I would also like to convey my best wishes to all the teams participating in the tournament, and I am sure that as always the tournament will be a resounding success.”

The prestigious Maharaja Bhawani Singh St. Regis Cup 2015 tournament takes centre stage at the Rajasthan Polo Club this month, beginning on Monday 19 January and culminating in the finals on Saturday 24 January.  As the title sponsor of the tournament, polo enthusiasts and guests are invited to enjoy the day’s matches from the St. Regis marquee. Paul James will host VIP guests and the Directors of the Rajasthan Polo Club to experience two St. Regis signature rituals, afternoon tea and champagne sabering as well as a soulful jazz performance inspired by the legacy of jazz at the original St. Regis hotel in New York.  Bringing to life a taste of the St. Regis heritage, guests will be served the iconic St. Regis Bloody Mary cocktail, as well as the Polo Mary, a special concoction created for all St. Regis polo events around the world.  The famed cocktail has been a part of the St. Regis brand history since 1934 when Fernand Petiot, bartender at the King Cole Bar at The St. Regis New York, first created the “Red Snapper,” which would later be renamed the Bloody Mary.

The Family Traditions at St. Regis program has also inspired activities at the final for budding polo players, such as petting and feeding ponies, clowns, special treats for children, and activity books.  The program was developed with the family at its core – to deliver unforgettable and enriching experiences inspired by the locale and designed to enable families to collect cherished memories and establish their own family traditions.

The rich history associated with the Rajasthan Polo Club and the Royal Family in Jaipur makes these events and the association with the polo club even more extraordinary and in line with the legacy of the St. Regis brand.

Harkening back to the original St. Regis New York, founded in 1904 by John Jacob Astor IV, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts have long been associated with the world of polo. At the turn of the 20th century, polo matches on Governors Island in Manhattan were the highlight of the New York social scene of which the Astors were a prominent fixture. In May of 2008, New Yorkers saw a revival of these traditions when St. Regis was invited to support the return of polo to Governors Island at the Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic – the first match to be played in New York City in almost 70 years.  As St. Regis continues to grow globally, the brand expands its polo presence in nearly as many destinations: recently hosting spirited polo matches and marquee events in Abu Dhabi, Aspen, Bridgehampton, Bangkok, London and Sonoma Valley with much more to come this year.