Paula Lewin set her stall out as clear favourite to grab the first trophy of Gold Cup week with a near-flawless display of match race sailing yesterday.

The Bermudian Olympian went into the final races of the group stages of the International Women?s Match Racing Championship with a perfect record and improved to 7-0 to clinch top spot, despite significantly trailing Frenchwoman Claire Leroy in the final race.

Yesterday?s three victories put Lewin on top of the pile ahead of today?s semi-finals and with the luxury of choosing her opponent ? knowing that a victory would give her a coveted place in the King Edward VII Gold Cup starting tomorrow.

And the comprehensive manner of her opening victories over Klaartje Zuiderbaan of Holland and Cory Sertl as well as the gritty comeback against Leroy filled her and her crew with confidence ahead of today?s battle to retain the title she won last year.

?I?m very happy with the way things went out there,? said the 33-year-old, who was delighted with the performance of her crew, sisters Megan and Peta as well as Leatrice Roman and Lisa Neasham.

?Things came together really well and coming through undefeated is really good for us.

?Every race sees you improve and we are going into the finals full of confidence and are all happy with the way we are sailing.?

After two relatively straightforward wins in the opening races sailed in 14 knot winds ? and qualification in top spot already secured ? Lewin?s mettle was tested during the third race against Leroy, being raced on a new course after inclement weather induced a wind shift.

Despite a strong start Lewin, aboard fell behind by as much as two boat lengths ahead of the last turn, but on the final leg they found some strong gusts that pushed them ahead of Leroy and sneaked them to the line in first position to fully stamp their authority on the group.

Lewin, with seven wins, easily outgunned all her opponents, none of whom could manage more than four victories.

?It was good to come through such a challenging race,? said a smiling Lewin after her impressive morning?s work.

?We showed good spirit and it was nice to remain unbeaten, but we have to put that out of our minds now.

?It is like a new competition begins now and although we are in a position to choose the opponent ? which is definitely an advantage ? what has gone before will have no bearing on what happens in the final.?

Although she is just one race away from Gold Cup qualification, she admits that her mind is on retaining her Women?s crown first and foremost.

?I can?t pretend that we are not going to have Gold Cup thoughts but there is still a lot of work to do and our priority has to be these races,? she added.

Lewin has until this morning to decide who she wants to take on in the semi-finals, a decision she will make only when the race conditions become apparent.

Zuiderbaan, who finished fourth in qualifying, would be the obvious choice, although Lewin may wish to take on Swede Jenny Axhede, who won twice yesterday, or Giulia Conti of Italy, who recorded just a single win in yesterday?s competition.

The pressure on Lewin has been increased as neither of her male compatriots managed to turn around their performances to earn a top three spot in their eight-man groups to qualify for the prestigious main Gold Cup event.

Although Adam Barboza did manage a victory over Brit Paul Campbell-James, his earlier loss to American Brian Angel left the 36-year-old in fourth place in his group with a 4-3 record.

Blythe Walker managed a comforting two victories on the final day of competition to leave him with a 3-4 record but his wins over Switzerland?s Eric Monnin and American Mason Woodworth were only good enough for fourth place in his group.

Advancing through to tomorrow?s Gold Cup, alongside the two female qualifiers from today?s final, are Angel, Cameron Appleton and Chris Larson from Group One and Scott Dickson, Anthony Kotoun and Cameron Dunn from Group Two.