Sailing: Scott speeds in front at Finn Gold Cup

Giles Scott sailing his finn during the International Sailing Regatta earlier in the year. Photo / Getty

British sailor Giles Scott has opened up a handy lead on the rest of the fleet after just two days at the Finn Gold Cup in Takapuna.

Heading into the second day on equal points with local hope Andrew Murdoch, the defending champion jumped 16 points clear of the Kiwi after winning the only race of the day. Scott's compatriot, Edward Wright, is a further two points back in third place.

With the light and shifty winds off Takapuna today making conditions difficult for the fleet, organisers opted to postpone the second scheduled race.

After an impressive start on day one, Murdoch struggled with the tricky conditions yesterday, finishing 17th. But with the sailors able to drop their worst result from their scorecard after four races have been sailed, there's the potential for Murdoch to get back in touch of Scott if he can pull off a couple of solid performances tomorrow.

Murdoch said while disappointed with today's result, he was pleased with the way he recovered after finding himself on the wrong side of the race course early on.

"It was a bit of an expensive day," said Murdoch.

"The tide played a big factor over on the right hand side and the guys around that side got ahead, so I was deep at the top mark but I was able to pull in probably 20-odd boats during the race."

"Giles did well to win that race. He's got the jump on us and is clearly the man to beat. It would be good to close in on him and be in contention for the title by the end of it."

The other key battle for Murdoch is between fellow Kiwi Josh Junior in the race for Olympic selection. As the pinnacle event in the class, the Finn Gold Cup is one of the key events selectors will be assessing when making their Olympic nominations.

Placed 13th after the first day, Junior broke into the top 10 yesterday with a 14th placing and will be eyeing further improvement tomorrow.