06/05/2026
by James Pacheco
Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix Day 1: Race 1 Analysis And Why Artemis SailGP Team Are The Event’s Lively Outsiders
The BONDS Flying Roos aren’t just the team most likely to win the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix, they’re also the team most likely to claim 10 points in Saturday’s opening race, according to the bookies.
But is there better value to be found elsewhere, and are there some good bets on offer on some of the side markets?
Flying Roos To Get Off To Their Usual Race 1 Flyer?
The BONDS Flying Roos are the favorites to take Fleet Race 1, and that should come as no surprise to followers of the Rolex SailGP Championship; it’s a scenario they’re used to.
They’re 4.0 to draw first blood in Great Sound on the opening day, and if results in this season’s opening race are anything to go by, that’s not a bad price at all.
After all, they took the maximum 10 points in Race 1 in each of the first three events of this season and followed that up with a runner-up spot in Race 1 at the ENEL Rio Sail Grand Prix, finishing behind the Artemis SailGP Team in that one.
4.0 about a team that has taken 38 points from a possible 40 on offer in the four events’ first race is a price that will appeal to many.
That’s even more the case when you consider they won the opening race here in Bermuda in Season 2 and then again in Season 4.
It’s certainly much easier to make a case for the Aussies than the Emirates GBR SailGP Team at the odds.
Emirates GBR Have Struggled in Race 1 All Season
The Brits are 5.0-second favorites for Race 1, and whereas their position in the overall standings suggests that price sounds about right, a third-place finish in Race 1 at the KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix is the best they have to show for their Race 1 efforts this season, so they clearly haven’t been the fastest of starters.
If you want a rug of comfort to cling onto with a view to betting on them to get the first 10 points of the day, they did win Race 1 back in Season 3.
Los Gallos On the Up
If the deserved favorites, the BONDS Flying Roos, aren’t for you at 4.0, and Emirates GBR don’t deserve your money either, given the above, then how about Los Gallos SailGP Team at 8.7?
Though the Spanish didn’t win Race 1 back in Season 4, they won the event as a whole, so they are no strangers to success here in Bermuda.
And as pointed out in our article earlier this week about SailGP’s consistent inconsistencies, at least in terms of conditions from one event to the next, Los Gallos are ‘quietly building consistency.’
That article goes on to say that ‘Led by Olympic gold medallists Diego Botin and Florian Trittel, the 2024 Rolex SailGP champions are beginning to look increasingly impressive.’
Who’s Best Conditioned For These Conditions?
And now to what will surely be a key factor throughout the weekend: the conditions themselves.
In the words of meteorologist Chris Bedford featured in this article, ‘moderate northeasterlies and choppier water are expected to shape Saturday’s racing.’
If there are early penalties and lots of jostling for position from then on, it could be the team that best avoids the chaos that comes through in Race 1. And that could well be the Spanish.
Even if they do not come out all guns blazing from the start, Los Gallos at least look a decent wager to make the final at odds of 3.28, something they’ve managed in each of the last three events, also remembering they were out of the season’s opening event, the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix, before it even got underway.
Artemis SailGP Team to Carry Rio Momentum to Bermuda?
Finally, a word on Artemis.
They impressed in the very first event of their debut season, claiming fourth place.
Then there was a respectable fifth place in New Zealand, and though they only managed ninth in Sydney, they bounced back from that to secure their first podium finish as a Rolex SailGP Championship team last time out in Rio, taking them up to fifth in the overall standings.
If you think they’re going to carry their momentum from Guanabara Bay into Bermuda, there are various betting markets in which you can show faith in Nathan Outteridge and his team.
They’re 4.44 to win the event, 1.53 to make the final, 5.13 to win Race 1, and 2.53 to make the Top 3 in Race 1.
Starting Points for Our US Readers
Starting Points for Our UK Readers
Starting Points for Our Global Readers