PELLY CROSSING – This time, it wasn’t even close.

Tagish musher Michelle Phillips raced to victory in the mid-distance Yukon Quest 300 sled dog race late Monday night, entering Pelly Crossing at 11:25 p.m. with 10 dogs on her towline.

The 46-year-old had rekindled her friendly rivalry with mushing superstar Aliy Zirkle during the race, but eventually left the Two Rivers, Alaska, musher in her dust.

When Phillips crossed the finish line of the 483-kilometre race in chilly -30 C temperatures, the 44-year-old Zirkle was still 18 kms out.

For her win, Phillips will take home a cheque of $1,425 US.

In 2013, Phillips out-duelled Zirkle in what was a photo-finish victory, decided by a mere eight seconds.

Zirkle, a former Yukon Quest 1,000-mile champion and three-time runner-up in the Iditarod, went on to win the YQ 300 last year, when the race started in Fairbanks.

This year, the race’s two biggest names started in fourth and fifth position, respectively, leaving the start chute in Whitehorse Saturday afternoon.

In total, 19 mushers took the challenge.

On Monday night, Phillips’ shouts of encouragement to her dogs could be heard well before she crossed the finish line. After sharing a handshake with race marshal Bob McAlpin, she proceeded to kiss each of her canine athletes before speaking with reporters.

“It was a cold race,” she said emphatically, before praising her canine squad – her kennel’s B-team.

“This is a real nice team. These are some of my B dogs and a couple young ones. I really liked them. They were a fun group.”

The Yukon musher admitted she didn’t expect to beat Zirkle so handily.

“Everybody has good races and bad races … Mine was pretty good, all in all,” she said. “I was happy with my team and it worked out well.”

Phillips is a frequent participant in the Iditarod, and previously participated in six Yukon Quests, finishing as high as fourth in 2008.

Zirkle has not run the Yukon Quest since 2000 when she became the first and only female musher to win the odyssey.

Their husbands are currently battling each other in the 1,000-mile race, with Phillips’ partner Ed Hopkins ranked as the top Canadian in sixth, while two-time defending champion Allen Moore was holding down fourth place early Tuesday morning.

Hopkins is running Phillips’ A-team, and her Iditarod roster will be decided following this year’s Yukon Quest.

The YQ 300 trail follows the trail of the 1,000-mile race until Pelly Crossing. There, the trail heads out to the hospitality stop of Stepping Stone – 56 kms away – then returns to the finish line in Pelly Crossing.

Yukon race president Michael Peterson said the 300-mile race is a popular qualifying race for mushers aiming at completing long-distance races like the Yukon Quest or Iditarod. Typically, the race has a waiting list every year.

The mid-distance race is also important for a sport “struggling with succession,” Peterson told the Star, as it provides a unique launching pad for mushers new to it.

Having big-name mushers such as Phillips, Zirkle, and former Yukon Quest rookie of the year Jake Berkowitz involved also helps raise the race’s profile, Peterson added.