Matador and Beau Ideal claim honours at LGT Wealth Management Australia Cup
by Nic Douglass 1 Nov 10:50 GMT
28 October - 1 November 2026
David Doherty's Matador and Karl Kwok's Beau Ideal claimed the major divisional honours at the LGT Wealth Management Australia Cup, when the 12-race series was completed on Sydney Harbour on Sunday 1 November from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.
Sixteen Grand Prix teams, five in the TP52 division and 11 in Super 40, contested five days of racing Organised by the Australian TP52 Sailing Association and hosted by the Squadron, the regatta combined weekday twilight races, a Friday passage race and a full weekend of windward-leeward racing.
With no discards, every result counted across the twelve race series.
Matador won both the TPR and IRC TP52 categories, while Beau Ideal topped the Super 40 standings on SFR, IRC and ORC, including a perfect 12 wins from 12 races on IRC.
Matador closed with second, first and first on both TPR and IRC in Sunday's three races, finishing on 19 points under each system. The TP52 won nine races on both ratings, adding the Australia Cup titles to its 2026 Pallas Capital Gold Cup victories on TPR and IRC.
"We had a lot of new faces and it took a little bit to gel, but once we've gelled we're pretty good," said Matador owner-skipper David Doherty.
With a new boat coming, Doherty said the team had wanted to concentrate on this regatta and was happy with the result, despite giving a couple of races away.
"It certainly keeps you on your toes, having to go backwards and forwards and think about what your next move is. I like the series, it was good."
Virago won Sunday's opening race on both handicaps and finished second in the next two, securing second overall with 30 points on TPR and 27 on IRC. Matador's winning margins were 11 points on TPR and eight on IRC.
Mark Spring's Highly Sprung completed the podium on both ratings, finishing on 43 points on TPR and 46 on IRC. With Cole Tapper on helm and Dean Williams calling tactics over the weekend, the team followed Saturday's TPR boat-of-the-day performance with three third places on Sunday.
Highly Sprung's weekend crew included five youth sailors under 26, with Tapper joined by Congressional Cup-winning Kairos Racing teammates Max Brennan, Nathan Gulliksen and Hamish Vass.
In the Super 40s, Beau Ideal held off a late challenge from Edge to win SFR on 32 points, four clear of the Dunning 44 on 36. Grant Pocklington's Anarchy finished third on 45.
Beau Ideal's Sunday SFR scoreline was third, second and third. Edge, John Bacon's boat helmed by Craig Neil, won races 10 and 12, with Anarchy taking race 11. Edge scored sixth in the middle race.
Five boats won SFR races across the week: Beau Ideal, Edge, Anarchy, Mittere and Ambition all took race victories.
Chris Dare's Ambition delivered the strongest Super 40 SFR scoreline on Sunday, finishing second, third and second. The seven-point day lifted the team from sixth to fourth overall on 63 points, four ahead of Scott Lawson's Mittere.
On IRC, Beau Ideal's clean sweep delivered a 12-point total, ahead of Edge on 35 and Ross Hennessy's Condor on 53. Condor held third by one point over Anarchy.
Beau Ideal also won all three Sunday races on ORC, completing 11 wins from 12 starts under that system. The final ORC standings had Beau Ideal on 13 points, Edge second on 34 and Anarchy third on 52.
With Gavin Brady on helm and Dean Barker on tactics, Beau Ideal's three overall wins followed its Super 40 Gold Cup success on SFR, IRC and ORC earlier this year.
"I had a lot of fun, obviously. This is a great place to sail," said Beau Ideal owner and skipper Karl Kwok.
Kwok admitted he had initially been sceptical about the evening racing, but the twilight format had won him over.
"Originally I was sceptical how come they are sailing in the evening, but it turns out it's even better."
Kwok said the concentration of similar-sized performance boats in Australia had made it a valuable place to race, train and better understand Beau Ideal after a late build-up to the 2025 Admiral's Cup.
"We have improved tremendously as far as we're concerned down here," Kwok said.
Kwok said the team had considered the Rolex Sydney Hobart, but uncertainty over the time needed to ship the boat back meant Beau Ideal would probably leave Australia before the race. The programme still includes offshore racing in the lead-up.
The event brought emerging sailors, experienced amateur crews and international campaigners together, with the combination of twilight and weekend racing giving the fleets a varied programme on Sydney Harbour.
Full race replays, daily highlights and interviews are available through the event website and TP52 Australia's YouTube channel, with commentary from Nic Douglass, Peter Shipway and Katie Spithill.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Boat Name | Skipper | Club | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | Pts |
|---|
| Super 40 |
|---|
| 1 | Beau Ideal (IVB2047) | Karl Kwok | RHKYC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 2 | Edge (AUS103) | Craig Neil | RPAYC | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 35 |
| 3 | Condor (AUS39) | Ross Hennessy | RPAYC | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 53 |
| 4 | Anarchy (095) | Grant Pocklington | RMYC | 3 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 54 |
| 5 | Ambition (1701) | Chris Dare | DSS | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 57 |
| 6 | Mittere (5040) | Scott Lawson | RSYS | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 69 |
| 7 | Bushranger (12200) | Micheal Fountain | RPAYC | 7 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 8.5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 77.5 |
| 8 | Minerva (9277) | Edward Cox | RSYS | 9 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 85 |
| 9 | Bullwinkle 400 (AUS768) | Peter Farrugia | RPAYC | 8 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 99.5 |
| TP52 |
|---|
| 1 | Matador (025) | David Doherty | CYCA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| 2 | Virago (883) | Robert Kelly | CYCA | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 27 |
| 3 | Highly Sprung (8108) | Mark Spring | CYCA | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 46 |
| 4 | Gusto (5200) | Lee Hawksley | CYCA | 4 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 50 |
| 5 | First Light (3545) | Peter White | CYCA | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 54 |
Results, replays and how to watch: www.australiacup.org