FAIRBANKS — Moments after he walked onto the stage, reached into an oversized bunny boot fit for a giant and drew bib No. 3 at the Start and Draw Banquet on Jan. 31 in Whitehorse, Brent Sass first introduced a narrative. It stuck with him and his team until they reached the finish line.

“My goal this year is to not pay attention to any of the competition,” Sass said after drawing the No. 3 starting position for the 36th running of the Yukon Quest 1,000-Mile International Sled Dog Race, which began Feb. 2 in Whitehorse.

“I’m really working on just running the dog team I have, because they’re young.”

Sass preached that same message throughout the 1,000-mile race to Fairbanks. He didn’t put much stock in being the first team to Dawson City — the final checkpoint on the Canada side — and he never wavered from his game plan of just going out and running his race.

The 39-year-old from Eureka joined an elite class Monday. He secured his second Quest title when he pulled into the finish chute at the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center in downtown Fairbanks at 12:39 p.m. Alaska time. He rode his sled behind a team of 14 dogs.

Hundreds of fans packed the chute to see him become the seventh musher to win the 1,000-mile race for a second time.

Fairbanks Mayor Jim Matherly watched from in front of the finish line, while a large group of vocal supporters held “Wild and Free Mushing” signs — the name of Sass’ kennel — a little further ahead.

It was a festive atmosphere, one that included cowbells and cheers, hoots and hollers.

The Quest veteran soaked it all in after crossing the finish line in a time of nine days, two hours and 34 minutes. That mark will include an asterisk in the record books because the race was shortened near the start line due to poor trail conditions.

“It’s amazing,” said a teary-eyed Sass, who sat out last year’s Quest after scratching in 2017 and posting a second-place finish in 2016.

“There’s three of (the dogs) that were in my team in ’15, and the rest of them are rookies between the ages of two and four. They rocked it. That’s about all I can say.”

What more did he really need to say?

After all, the most impressive part of his victory was visible to everybody in attendance. Sass arrived with 14 dogs on his gang-line—the maximum number a team is allowed to use during the race.

Allen Moore, the 2018 champion from Two Rivers, also finished with 14 dogs when he won last year’s Quest title.

At the time, none of the race officials could think of another team who had finished without dropping a single dog along the way.

Sass made it two in a row, proving that mushers can compete at the highest level while also maintaining a healthy sled dog team.

“That’s what means the most to me,” he said.

“The whole time coming in, my chant was ‘14 strong!’ Everybody at the checkpoints was like, ‘You’ve still got 14?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah.’

“A few checkpoints back I started saying, ‘We’re going to the finish line with them,’ because they just came together.

“I’m speechless when it comes to that. That’s the No. 1 thing for me: Respect your dogs. I think we did that today.”

Dr. Nina Hansen, the Quest’s head veterinarian, began to get emotional when asked about seeing the winning team approach the finish line with 14 dogs for a second consecutive year.

This year’s trail conditions forced teams to truck the 77-mile stretch between the Braeburn and Carmacks checkpoints near the start line, and teams also were able to add more dogs at Carmacks and Pelly Crossing. However, Hansen still was amazed to see another champion replicate Moore’s feat.

Nevertheless, Hansen said, “it’s still incredible that Brent did that. He ran from Pelly to the finish line with 14 dogs.”

Sass singled out a few of his dogs during the post-race news conference.

He was led by seven-year-old Sluice and four-year-old Morello during his run from the final checkpoint located about 70 miles from Fairbanks.

But he was most emotional about Jeep, a five-year-old that Joee Redington, who died in 2017, raised as a sprint runner.

Redington, of Iditarod fame, always told Sass that Jeep would make a good distance dog. So, after his friend died, the veteran musher purchased Jeep from Redington’s widow, Pam, and made it his mission to see his old mentor’s belief become a reality.

“I trained him for two seasons and he was phenomenal,” he said. “He led 400 or 500 miles of the race. He led over American Summit in a windstorm, he brought the speed up when we needed it.”

Sass joins four-time champions Lance Mackey and Hans Gatt; Moore, a three-time champion; and two-time champions Hugh Neff, John Schandelmeier and Charlie Boulding as the only mushers to win multiple Quest titles.

In doing so, Sass earned $21,769.50 US, the amount of the purse allotted for this year’s winner. It amounts to 18.93 per cent of the total purse of $115,000, though that figure can change if fewer than 15 teams finish the race.

Because he reached the finish line, Sass will also keep the poke of gold he earned by being the first musher into Dawson. The poke, given to the first musher who reaches the iconic checkpoint and goes on to finish the race, includes two ounces of gold, worth about $2,623 today.

None of the monetary earnings would’ve been possible without stellar performances throughout the race. Although Sass said his team was challenged at various stages, he emphasized his team’s run on the winding creek between the Circle and Central checkpoints.

Putting together a solid run on the creek, which was renamed as the Ikhèenjik River in 2016 after formerly being known as Birch Creek, was a big part of Sass’ game plan.

Once he accomplished that, he decided to travel through Central, the last checkpoint before teams encounter Eagle Summit’s 3,685-foot peak.

“I took the gamble and blew through Central, which just puts a few more miles on you before you go over Eagle Summit, which is always a test,” he said.

That decision allowed Sass to gain some separation from a front pack that included Moore, Gatt, of Whitehorse, and Michelle Phillips, from 10 Mile, Yukon.

After clearing Eagle Summit, Sass arrived at the next checkpoint, Mile 101 Steese Highway, located about 115 miles from the finish line.

Upon arriving, Jason Avery, one of his handlers, let him know that none of the other teams continued through Central.

“I’ll never forget the moment,” Sass said. “I looked Jason in the eyes and he could see the desperation in my eyes, and he said, ‘No one has left Central.’ I just passed out basically. I was like, ‘Oh my God!’”

That was the moment Sass knew he had control of the race. And now, after taking 2018 off before returning for this year’s Quest, Monday’s victory has him feeling like he might stay in control for years to come.

“This is the future,” he said after the win. “That’s the beautiful part about this. This is my dog team for the next five years, so that’s exciting, because they’re just getting started right now.”

By Brad Joyal
Fairbanks News-Miner