America's Cup preparations have robbed the King Edward VII Gold Cup of a number of its top draws -- despite organisers bringing it forward more than a month.

Match racing world champion Peter Gilmour, the Australian who is leading Japan's Nippon Challenge for the America's Cup, and Russell Coutts, captain of America's Cup title defender Team New Zealand, will not be coming this year as the challenger races start in Auckland on October 10.

Coutts, who won his fifth Gold Cup last year, had as good as ruled himself out of the tournament 11 months ago, while Gilmour, a winner twice, had called Bermuda "the Mecca of sailing'' and had pledged to compete if it was at all possible.

Also missing are Murray Jones, a member of the Team New Zealand crew, who became the first unseeded skipper to make the Gold Cup final last year, fellow Kiwi Gavin Brady who was recruited to Dawn Riley's America True syndicate, Ed Baird, who will skipper PACT2000, Italian Francesco di Angelis and another New Zealander, Dean Barker. Peter Holmberg is absent with the US Virgin Islands' America's Cup challenge.

Chris Law, meanwhile, who was rumoured last year to be forming a British America's Cup challenge that ultimately never materialised, competed instead in the recent Admiral's Cup at Cowes. He was originally listed to participate in the Gold Cup, but informed organisers he had been unable to raise sponsorship for his boat.

It all means the top ranked skipper among the eight seeds is Markus Weiser of Germany, who is rated number six in the world and finished seventh in last year's tournament. Sweden's Magnus Holmberg, another previous Gold Cup competitor, now ranked seventh in the world, is joined by two of his countrymen, Bjorn Hansen, ranked 30th, and Marten Hedlund, ranked number 43.

Another Scandinavian, Denmark's Jes Gram-Hansen, who recently made it into the top 10, will also compete along with Andy Green, the world's number 32, from Britain.

The final two seeded places go to Bermuda perennials Paula Lewin and Peter Bromby -- leaving two more local crews the opportunity of making the qualifying rounds via the Gosling Black Seal Cup this weekend.

Lewin certainly earns her place as she lies second in the women's match race world rankings and advanced through the qualifiers to the tournament proper for the first time last year.

The absence of the top competitors means that the overall fleet has been reduced from an initial 24 teams to 15. Ironically, in this, the 51st running of the regatta, it comes at a time when organisers have secured a new title sponsor in Colorcraft, who have upped prize money by $15,000 to $75,000.

But tournament director Scott McLeod still stressed the importance of the event, which lasts a week from September 12, because, as a grade one regatta, it can earn competitors points towards the world rankings.

Moment of no return: Murray Jones slips past Russell Coutts in last year's Gold Cup final. Neither are able to come back for this year's regatta as they are team-mates on the America's Cup title defender Team New Zealand.