Sweden's Johnie Berntsson and Mattias Rahm and Kiwi Adam Minoprio each pulled off stunning upsets in Hamilton Harbour during yesterday's King Edward VII Gold Cup quarter-finals to turn the prestigious regatta on its head.

Berntsson ousted defending Gold Cup champion Mathieu Richard of France three and one and then to cap off a truly remarkable day of sailing for the Swedes Rahm defeated World Match Racing Tour champ Ian Williams three and two ¿ in a first to three points series that went right down to the wire.

Kiwi Minoprio also had good reason to celebrate after seeing off top World Match Racing Tour title contender Sebastien Col three and one to advance to the final four.

"The worst we can now be is fourth and the best is number one and so we are going for the number one," an ambitious Rahm told onlookers at yesterday's press conference.

"It was very shifty conditions out there today and very tough racing, but It's always nice to be successful whenever you are sailing on the tour."

Current World Match Racing Tour champion Williams took defeat all in stride, conceeding that the better team won on the day.

"I think it was a frustrating day for us as we felt we didn't make any big mistakes today. We felt we sailed smooth around the course and was reasonably in control during most of the starts," he said.

"But Mattias didn't make any mistakes either and when your opponent doesn't make mistakes you need something extra to beat them - and that bit of extra just wasn't there today."

Sweden's Berntsson could not help but let it be known just how he felt about toppling defending Gold Cup champ and world number one match racing skipper Richard.

"We are really happy to beat Mathieu and his crew because they are really good sailors," he said. "I got the best help from my guys (crew) today.

"I had some really bad starts but we still managed to keep up with Mathieu and his crew and the further the race went the better we got."

Like the professional he is, Richard was gracious in defeat.

"Johnie and his team had better speed today and were also very clever on their tactics," he said.

"We had some good starts but it was just a tough and disappointing day."

Kiwi Minoprio attributed his convincing win over Frenchman Col to solid team work and a "positive" vibe ondeck.

"We sailed very well today and the guys did a great job," he said.

"The feeling onboard the boat was very positive and to come out on top of Sebastien Col was really good for us.

"I don't think we have beaten him at all this year on tour."

In yesterday's remaining quarterfinal match-up, three-time Olympic Gold medallist Ben Ainslie defeated Australian Keith Swinton three and one to advance to the final four competing in the International One Design (IOD) for the first time. Ainslie's succeded despitehaving limited match racing experience under his belt this year.

With an overall Gold Cup record of ten and one, Englishman Ainslie is now a firm favourite to claim Richard's vacant crown and the $50,000 winner's purse.

"We had some great racing against Keith (Swinton) and his team.

"I think both teams sailed really well and handled the boat well also and sailed really fast," the multiple Finn Class world champion said.

"It was really just a case of picking the wind shifts right and my team did just that.

"We were just able to sneak by Keith in a couple of them (matches) and take the break and move to the next round."

Today's Gold Cup semi-final action will feature Rahm against Ainslie while Berntsson will lock horns with Minoprio.

Renaissance Re Junior Gold Cup racing also continues today in the Great Sound while at Barr's Bay Park, adjacent to Gold Cup hosts Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC), the inaugural Bermuda Festival of Sail will be open to the general public free of charge.