Past winners Ian Williams, Mathieu Richard and Jesper Radich all took route one to the quarter-finals of the $100,000 Argo Group Gold Cup during yesterday’s blustery conditions in Hamilton Harbour.All three sailors finished the group stage with identical 6-1 records in their respective groups.Two-time World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) champion Williams started the day on the back foot after losing to Swiss rival Eric Monnim in his first race.“Eric showed us how to get around the course in the morning so we learned a lot from that race,” said Williams, taking defeat all in stride.The 2007 King Edward VII Gold Cup winner bounced back with a win against Frenchman Richard that ultimately decided the group winner. But he was pushed to near breaking point against Richard’s fellow countryman Damien Iehl in his final group match before ultimately prevailing.“It was a very close race against Damien Iehl,” Williams said. “We led him at the start and he passed us up the beat.“We managed to get past and put a penalty on him down the first run. But annoyingly enough he came back and passed us again on the second beat.“The last run was exciting. He had a penalty but was ahead. But unfortunately for him and fortunately for us we just managed to roll over the top and get room on the pin to take the win.“It was a key race for us and I think if we hadn’t won then we may well have been in the Repechage. But as it is we topped the group so we are obviously very pleased to beat the best into the quarter-finals.”If it was any consolation, Richard, the 2006 Gold Cup winner, joined Williams in the last eight after finishing second behind his fellow Group Three rival, leaving Monnin and Iehl to battle it out in today’s Repechage for the right to advance to the quarter-finals via the long route.Richard admitted that silly mistakes in the pre-start cost him the match against Williams and reckons there’s plenty of room for improvement.“You can always improve your sailing and we will try to improve and be better in the quarter-finals,” he vowed.Advancing to the quarter-finals from Group Two were group winner Torvar Mirsky of Australia (5-2) and Kiwi Phil Robertson (4-3). Taylor Canfield (US Virgin Islands, 4-3) and Johnie Berntsson (Sweden 4-3) finished third and fourth respectively and will join Monnin and Iehl in today’s Repechage.Among the big guns failing to advance from Group Two was four-time WMRT champion Peter Gilmour (Australia), whose fate was sealed after having an appeal for a redress in his match with Berntsson turned down.Topping Group One was non-WMRT Card Holder Staffan Lindberg (6-1) of Finland who finished ahead of 2002 Gold Cup winner Radich of Denmark.WMRT championship contender and Gold Cup debutant Francesco Bruni of Italy and Swede Bjorn Hansen finished third and fourth in Group One and will be among those fighting for a place in the last eight via the six-boat round robin Repechage.