05/12/2026
by James Pacheco
In previous articles here in the betting section of the SailGP site, such things have been written as ‘anything can happen in SailGP’, or ‘even the biggest of the outsiders have a chance on their day’.
But the action on Sunday at the KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix proved that these aren’t just things that are written for the sake of it, these are things that actually happen. And did on Sunday.
Here’s the remarkable story of the U.S. SailGP Team’s victory in Sydney.
Biggest Outsiders In the Fleet Defy the Odds
Going into the Sydney event, the U.S. SailGP Team had shown consistency in finishing fifth at the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix and seventh at the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland, yet despite other teams being below them in the standings of the Rolex SailGP Championship, they were the biggest outsiders of the lot to win the third event of the season, according to the odds-compilers.
They were available at 60.0 to win the event and 21.09 just to make the final. That was an implied probability of 1.7% for the event win and 4.7% to have made the final.
But on Saturday the early signs were there that this could be a decent weekend for the Americans with a third-place finish in Races 2 and 4.
And things were about to get even better on Sunday, finishing third yet again in Race 5 and winning Race 6.
A sixth-place finish in Race 7 was enough to see them qualify for the final as the second-placed team after the fleet races, joined by Los Gallos SailGP Team who topped the standings, and the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team, who were third after the fleet races.
We all know the Americans went on to win the final, but how did they do it?
The Americans’ Win In Their Own Words
As explained in this article that dissected the Americans’ win in further detail:
“On a Sydney Harbour race track that demanded nerve, nuance and nerves of steel, Canfield and co delivered a performance built on clarity and conviction.
“In light, shifty conditions where one bad decision can tangle a weekend, Canfield’s team committed to a simple mantra: clean air, clear lanes, cold heads.”
It was the U.S. SailGP Team’s third event win in SailGP but the first-ever for current driver Taylor Canfield.
In Canfield’s own words:
“It was a tricky race track but we came into today with a really good plan,” he explained.
“We knew we had to keep the pedal down, stay in clean air, stay out of the pack.
“Overall it’s been a great series down here in the Southern Hemisphere but we’re looking forward to getting back home,” Canfield added.
The Best Of the Rest
Emirates GBR were second, securing their third podium finish in three events, while Los Gallos were third for a second event running, having already secured the same finishing position in Auckland a couple of weeks ago.
But of course, a surprise win against all odds meant some of the favorites missed out, none more so than the BONDS Flying Roos SailGP Team.
They ended up in fifth position after the fleet races and didn’t qualify for the final, having been priced up at just 1.11 to make the final three. A big disappointment for Tom Slingsby and his crew but they still have plenty of chances to bite back.
They Couldn’t, Could They?
The Americans’ win in Sydney has propelled them up to third in the Championship’s standings on 20 points. They trail the BONDS Flying Roos on 25 points and the uber-consistent Brits, the defending Rolex SailGP Champions, who lead on 28.
It’s now 2.32 that Dylan Fletcher leads his team to back-to-back wins in the Rolex SailGP Championship and the bookies certainly aren’t ruling out Slingsby and his team from wrestling the title back from Emirates GBR after just one below-par weekend; they’re 2.38. Los Gallos are 14.28 and the Americans are 20.0 for the Championship.
Those odds suggest it’s highly unlikely that Canfield will be the driver of the Championship-winning team come late November 2026.
But then again, many thought the same ahead of the Sydney event and look at how that turned out.
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