Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix Recap: Ecstasy For Los Gallos, Agony For Dylan Fletcher and His Team
Portsmouth provided back-to-back event wins for Los Gallos SailGP Team at big halfway odds, but there was plenty more going on elsewhere, so here’s what you need to know about it all…
A Result That Has Shaken Up the Standings
When all was said and done in Portsmouth at the end of the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix, it was Los Gallos SailGP Team walking away with the big trophy, plenty of prize money and above all, 10 priceless points that have seen them occupy the second spot in the Rolex SailGP Championships by themselves, 12 off the Bonds Flying Roos SailGP Team in first.
A strong runner-up finish from the Artemis SailGP Team, their third podium of the campaign, has seen them break into the top three for the first time this season, their tally of 47 points just one more than the U.S SailGP Team, who picked up five points of their own here when finishing fifth.
But just as the Spanish and Swedes made plenty of progress in the standings after their good work this weekend, it proved to be a disastrous home event for Dylan Fletcher and his British crew. Emirates GBR finished just 11th and out of the points entirely.
It’s a result that has cost them a place in the current top four, and now, down in fifth, a top three finish at the end of the season and a place in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix 2026 Season Grand Final is no longer looking like the formality it once seemed to be.
All Change In the Championship Winner Odds
If you don’t believe us about that, maybe the latest odds will convince you. The Brits are out at 10.0 to win the Championship, the biggest price they’ve been all season.
And Artemis and the U.S. SailGP Team haven’t just overtaken them in the standings, they’ve also overtaken them in the betting, with the former 6.25 to go on and win the Championship in what is their debut season and the Americans 8.33; in both cases the shortest prices they’ve been since the 2026 Season got underway.
Of course, the Bonds Flying Roos remain the red-hot favorites at 2.38, and there’s been little or no change to that price over the last few weeks, almost irrespective of their results.
The bookies clearly feel that they’re going to make the Grand Final whatever happens between now and then, so don’t feel the need to adjust their odds on the Aussies. That said, they’ve now gone back-to-back events without a top three finish, a rarity for them.
16.66 Chances on Saturday Night, Winners On Sunday
A pre-event price of 8.33 on Los Gallos doesn’t sound like too much of a betting upset. But what about odds of 16.66?
Here’s what we wrote in Saturday night’s round-up of the day’s action:
“That includes the clear Championship leaders, the Bonds Flying Roos, being available at 20.0 to win here in Portsmouth, while the two teams hot on their heels in the Championship standings are at big prices too; Los Gallos can be backed at 16.67 and Emirates GBR also at 20.0”
The same review piece pointed out that Los Gallos were evens just to make the Final, let alone win it, so things weren’t looking particularly promising regarding back-to-back wins for the Spanish on Saturday night.
However, back-to-back wins for them, after their success in the Canada Sail Grand Prix last month, is exactly what we got -ut only after Diego Botin eventually secured a second-place finish in Race 4 and a third-place finish in Race 5 just to make the final.
They were joined in it by Group A rivals NorthStar SailGP Team, who eventually finished third overall, in the process denying the Black Foils SailGP team a place in it after the Kiwis had gone into Sunday’s racing as 1.51 favorites to make the last race of the event.
The Canadians had been available at 3.11 to be in Sunday’s four-boat showdown before the event got underway, the Swedes had gone into it with a 2.72 chance of making the final, while the Explora Swiss had been on offer at 3.86.
Off to Germany Next
Next up we’re at the ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix in the last week of August and the Championship standings certainly have a very different look to them than they did a couple of months ago.
Will the Bonds Flying Roos bounce back in Sassnitz after two disappointing events? Or will Los Gallos join them as the second team this season to win three events in a row? Or will it be Dylan Fletcher righting the wrongs of Portsmouth to move back up the table?
The alternative scenario could be a fifth different event winner of the season as group racing continues to throw up unpredictable results, but if so, who?
Join us for the action from August 23 onwards.
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