Ian Williams? decision to suspend practising law for one year to concentrate solely on match racing paid big dividends in Hamilton Harbour yesterday as he became the first Englishman to win the prestigious King Edward VII Gold Cup since 1999.

Williams defeated Frenchman Mathieu Richard 3-1 in the best-of-five final ? contested in shifty conditions under sunny skies ? to pocket the $25,000 winner?s cheque.

?It?s a dream to win the Gold Cup because it?s the match racing event with the most history, tradition and fame . . . it?s a dream come true,? an ecstatic Williams told moments after being hoisted overboard by his equally jubilant crew.

Williams became the first Englishman to win the prestigious regatta since Andy Green achieved the feat seven years ago.

The 29-year-old lawyer wasted no time throwing down the gauntlet in the first race, crossing the start line on a starboard tack to seize the early advantage.

?We were very strong in the dial-in and were able to hold Mathieu away from the start line,? Williams explained. ?He managed to wriggle clear with about a minute to go. But as we came back to the line we were able to position our boat really well in his way.?

Then on the first beat to windward the Englishman was forced to roll over to cover Richard on the starboard side before tacking back to port where he caught an enormous lift which effectively clinched the opening race.

?We were able to pick our own shifts and draw away and win reasonably comfortably,? Williams added.

Another big lift heading to the third windward mark on the fifth leg enabled Williams to win race number two convincingly before the two skippers swapped boats.

?We were confident to leave the other guy and head to the left and it came off for us and we had a big gain there to seal that race,? the newly-crowned Gold Cup champ said.

Yet despite being pushed over the line and incurring a penalty, Richard turned the final on its head by clawing his way back into contention to win the third race to keep French hopes alive.

?Again we had a great start, we were ahead and a penalty up,? Williams explained. ?We made a couple of tacks with him (Richard) and made some gains.?

But for the first time Williams misread a shift on the right side of the race course and ultimately paid the price.

?That was the first time the left really came in really well. And he came in really strong on the left, made a big gain, sailed really smooth, made very good decisions and also shook his penalty off.

?He just out sailed us in that third race.?

With the final now hanging in the balance, Williams quickly rebounded in the fourth race to cancel any hopes Richard might have had of staging another late fightback.

After executing another great start at the line, Williams caught all the right shifts and kept clean air on his sail before pipping Richard ? who created tremendous boat speed on the final run ? by half-a-boat-length at the finish to claim a first Gold Cup in only his second attempt.

After being congratulated by Governor Sir John Vereker, Williams saluted his crew for doing an excellent job during the course of the regatta.

?My crew did a great job, particularly downwind where we were very fast. But more than anything everybody chipped in at the start,? he said. ?That?s where we won this regatta.?

Richard, meanwhile, took defeat in his stride.

?It?s been a fantastic week for us. The regatta was very well organised and in terms of results of course we are very happy,? the Frenchman said.

?It was a bit disappointing to lose the final, but it was still a good result for us and hopefully we will be back next year.?