Gatt credits ‘outstanding dog team’

A lot can happen in 160 kilometres

BRAEBURN – A lot can happen in 160 kilometres, and with the Yukon Quest’s top three mushers leaving within an hour of each other from Braeburn this morning, the field is still wide open.

Hans Gatt of Whithorse, Lance Mackey of Fairbanks, and Hugh Neff, who is out of Tok, Alaska and Annie Lake, Alaska, were running as much as 11 hours in front of their nearest competitor Zack Steer early this morning.

The race itself was 31 hours ahead of schedule at that point, and all three frontrunners were on track to beat Whitehorse’s Sebastian Schnuelle, who set the Yukon Quest record in 2009 with a time of nine days, 23 hours and 20 minutes.

Coming into the Pelly Crossing checkpoint, Gatt thought the race for first place was over for him.

But that seems to have changed, with Gatt gliding into the Braeburn checkpoint half an hour before Mackey at 6:19 p.m. Sunday.

Upon his arrival, Gatt was wished a happy Valentine’s Day by partner Susie Rogan. He was in good spirits as he fed his hungry team, who gobbled up dry kibble while awaiting their usual hot meal.

The day didn’t start as planned for Gatt, who had contemplated a longer rest at the Carmacks checkpoint, but was forced back out on the trail when Mackey and Neff left after only a few hours.

“I would have rested longer if they had rested longer,” Gatt said.

With the finish looming, Gatt headed back out on the trail with something to prove. The three-time Quest champion powered past Neff and Mackey and earned a half-hour lead heading into the eight-hour mandatory layover in Braeburn.

Gatt said his lead today was due to an “outstanding dog team” that battled hard despite warm whether which slowed down Mackey.

“When the sun came up on those lakes, it was pretty hot,” Gatt said.

During the eight hours he had to rest, Mackey planned to massage his dogs, eat and get a little sleep in before the final push into Whitehorse.

“Since Dawson, I have slept two hours, I think,” Gatt said. It was hard to tell the Yukoner was tired, as his sights were set on the finish line 175 kilometres away in Whitehorse.

His dogs also looked ready to go, with Rogan commenting they had been run through Braeburn to Whitehorse weeks before the Quest started Feb. 6 in Fairbanks.

Once his layover was over, Gatt had a simple goal: “(To) go as fast as we can go.”

Gatt, who stood to tie Mackey for the most Yukon Quest titles if he pulled in first to Whitehorse, said his goal is to win.

“It’d be neat to win it. My goal all along was to win the race,” Gatt said. “I’d like to achieve my goals.”

Mackey was forced to slow his team coming into Braeburn when the temperatures loomed near the 0 C mark.

“I had to slow down a bit in the heat,” he said.

Mackey said he had hoped to “uproot” Gatt’s strong team by leaving Carmacks early.

“Sometimes you gotta gamble,” he said. “I do things outside the normal train of thought.”

His plan didn’t stop Gatt, though.

“He went by me today like I was still tied to a tree,” Mackey said.

Even half an hour behind Gatt, Mackey said he is confident.

“I’ve made up an hour on him before,” Mackey said. “It’s far from over.”

The advantage that Gatt may have is that his team will be running home, while Mackey’s Fairbanks-based team will be less familiar with the trail.

The veteran said only three dogs in his 10-member team have previously travelled the Quest trail.

“I can tell them, ‘let’s go home,’ but they know they’re not going home,” he said.

Mackey didn’t plan to “break the trust” his team holds in him by telling them to run home, but said he could still be the first team into Whitehorse.

“It takes one second to win a race,” Mackey said.

After tending to his team Sunday night, Neff said Gatt would be hard to beat leaving Braeburn.

“He literally flew right by us,” Neff said. “He still has that speed.”

Neff, who fell behind Mackey on Sunday afternoon, had nothing but positives to say about Gatt.

“I call him champ because this is his trail,” Neff said. “Hans is a magician with dogs and dog care. He’s gonna be tough to beat (today).”

Neff slowed his run to prevent injury in one of his dogs who had tight muscles in his chest. The heat also affected his team.

“If it’s really warm, we just can’t push the dogs that hard,” Neff said.

While he admits first place was a stretch, he hoped to at least catch up to friend and competitor Mackey.

“I plan on catching Lance,” he declared.

Losing out on first place won’t be too hard on Neff, who said the prize isn’t his only reason for racing.

“I’m not really about the trophies or money,” he said. “If I catch someone, that’s the icing on the cake.”

Neff hoped the eight hours of rest and the slow run today would leave his team in top form to face Mackey and Gatt.

“I’m gonna have a good team for (today),” he said, adding he thought ahead when running today. “Don’t push them too hard for today, and they’ll be fresh for (today).”

Neff said his rivals have great dogs. “These two other fellers have higher-quality dog teams.”

With the near-perfect weather and trail conditions observed in this year’s Quest, Neff predicted this year would be a record-breaker.

“I think all of us are going to break it and it probably won’t be touched for a while,” he said.

Neff said he and other champion mushers keep coming back year after year for a trail he describes as better than the Iditarod. “It’s a speedway out there.”

Later-finishing Questers are spread out from Dawson to the finish line.

Whitehorse’s Jocelyne LeBlanc left Dawson at 4:41 p.m. Sunday after her 36-hour layover, bound for the Scroggie Creek dog drop. She was down to eight dogs.

She was followed by current Red Lantern carrier Terry Williams at 5:52 p.m.

Normand Casavant of Whitehorse came into the Pelly Crossing checkpoint in 10th place at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

The rookie of the year award is undecided at this point, with mushers Abbie West and Joshua Cadzow jostling for eighth spot.