It's an all antipodean final at the 67th Argo Group Gold Cup featuring Adam Minoprio's BlackMatch Racing from New Zealand and Keith Swinton's Black Swan Racing from Australia. Minoprio defeated Taylor Canfield's US One, 3-2, in a dramatic semifinal, while Swinton downed Björn Hansen's Nautiska Racing, 3-1.
With the score tied 2-2, Minoprio looked on the verge of elimination in Race 5. He was on the course side at the start gun and trailed around the course, by as much as 30 seconds at the second windward mark. But on the run to the finish Minoprio worked the right side of the course (looking upwind) and found a streak of pressure that never reached Canfield on the other side. Minoprio took the gun at the committee boat end of the line, almost two lengths ahead of Canfield.
In the other semifinal match Swinton acted like a pit bull, constantly going at Hansen in the pre-starts to gain the edge off the start line. Swinton won the first race and Hansen evened the score in the second race despite being saddled with a pre-start penalty, which he unloaded at the top of the first beat. But Swinton came back to win the next two and advance to the final. The final is scheduled to start at 1430 ADT.
