1984 Costa Del Sol Classic 1984 Costa Del Sol Classic The 1984 Costa Del Sol Classic was a professional invitational snooker tournament which took place in August 1984. The tournament was held at the Las Palmeras Hotel in Fuengirola, Spain, and featured 12 professional players. The four qualifying matches were played under a best-of-five frames format, as were the quarter-finals and semi-finals, and the final best of nine. Dennis Taylor won the event, beating Mike Hallett 5–2 in the final, which was twenty-five-year old Hallett's first as a professional. Four players participated in qualifying for the quarter-finals, to which Tony Knowles, Taylor, Joe Johnson and
Gato Del Sol Henryk de Kwiatkowski's colt, Conquistador Cielo. Gato Del Sol raced on the New York circuit for the remainder of the 1982 season. After he finished eighth in the Suburban Handicap, his training was taken over by Howard Tesher. Gato Del Sol then won an allowance race at Saratoga Race Course on August 7 as a tuneup for his run in the prestigious Travers Stakes. That year, the entries included each of the winners of the three American Classics. In addition to Derby winner Gato Del Sol, the competition included Preakness Stakes victor Aloma's Ruler and Belmont Stakes winner Conquistador Cielo.