After his bid for a fourth title seemed doomed less than a day ago, Canadian musher Hans Gatt on Sunday night recaptured the lead in the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race that's about to shatter the race's speed records.
Gatt pulled into Braeburn, the penultimate checkpoint just 100 miles from the finish line, at 5:19 p.m. AST Sunday on a blistering pace that may break the Quest race record on Monday by some 30 hours. Ahead was familiar training trail for the nine remaining dogs in Gatt's team, anxious to revisit their home kennel in Whitehorse.
Four-time champion Lance Mackey followed Gatt into the checkpoint 34 minutes later. Hugh Neff of Tok was 25 minutes behind Mackey.
All three front-runners have a mandatory eight-hour rest in Braeburn before starting the push to the finish line.
Sunday's come-from-behind move was just the latest flip-flop of fortunes for Gatt in this 1,000-mile race between Fairbanks and Whitehorse.
Last week, Gatt seized a 2 1/2-to-three hour lead over Mackey and Neff, last year's runner-up, when the team took its 36-hour break in Whitehorse. That's a sizeable lead in any distance race.
Despite the rest, trouble awaited.
Gatt had to drop two dogs in Scroggie Creek, 100 miles from Dawson, because of injuries. Then he had to carry a third dog in his sled part of the 70 miles between Scroggie Creek and the next checkpoint, Stepping Stone.
By the time he reached the Stepping Stone, he had company.
"We came down a hill, and lo and behold, there's Hans," Neff told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
Gatt wasn't a happy musher.
"Those 200 miles weren't very pleasant, to put in mildly," he told the News-Miner. "I think the race for first place is over for me."
But by the time he reached Braeburn, 180 miles past Stepping Stone, Gatt was back in front.
Now the question is simple: Can his nine dogs hold off a charge by Mackey's 10 or Neff's 10? Race observers were predicting a Monday afternoon finish that would shatter the race record.
That record of 9 days, 23 hours, 20 minutes was set last year by Sebastian Schnuelle. The fastest time when the race begins in Fairbanks was set by Mackey four years ago, 10 days, 7 hours, 47 minutes.
Race watchers predict the winner will come down Second Avenue in Whitehorse thisafternoon.
And, perhaps, the fans at the finish will witness a third consecutive thriller -- at least by distance mushing standards.
Mackey beat Ken Anderson of Fox, who was running fourth on Sunday, by 15 minutes in 2008. Schnuelle nipped Neff by four minutes last year.
"At this point, there's no more strategizing," former Quest musher Jon Little wrote on his blog, CheckPoint (http://drtims.com/blog). "It's all about who's got the speed and stamina -- and the dog power to take off on one final long run to the finish line. It is a long 100 miles, and likely a final 12-hour push for the front teams. Temperatures are forecast to rise into the mid 30s F, which may yet play a role in this race."
Little spoke with former Iditarod musher Jake Berkowitz, who's working as a handler for Zack Steer of Sheep Mountain, who was running a distant fourth Sunday. Berkowitz said that Gatt's team displayed the most enthusiasm at the Pelly Crossing checkpoint, jumping in harness and barking enthusiastically.
While Gatt forged a lead, Mackey and Neff have run near each other for miles.
"We're sort of feeding off each other," Neff told the Fairbanks News-Miner. "We sort of take turns out in front when the other one slows down."
Mackey had slightly different view.
"I can catch and pass him, but I can't leave him," he told the newspaper. "That's the best chasing team I've ever seen in my life. They don't like to get left behind."
Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.
By MIKE CAMPBELL
mcampbell@adn.com