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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - In hindsight, Henry Kruse said he should have known Hobbes would win the race.

The 11-year-old noticed his pet hamster seemed particularly energetic as she roamed around the house in her plastic ball last Friday - the day before she was set to race at JJ Hobbies as part of the store's customer appreciation day.

"She was running more than she usually does," he said. "She kept on banging into walls."

On race day, Kruse's hopes of victory sagged as he watched the furry black and white creature lick herself inside her tiny racecar, alongside two other immobile hamsters in racecars. He thought they didn't have much of a chance when Hobbes started running backwards.

"It was really suspenseful. My hamster, at the beginning, I didn't think would win," he said after the race. "Finally she just got the courage and she went all the way."

Despite the slow start, Hobbes ran the track three times before the other hamsters made it across the finish line once, which Kruse credits "half to the hamster, half me" for the encouragement and training he offered to his pet.

"Just naturally, that's how fast she goes," he said, a red first-place ribbon pinned to his shirt. "I was just feeling pretty bad for the other hamsters."

One of the hamsters was older than Hobbes and the other younger, Kruse said, explaining six-month-old Hobbes worked that middle ground to her benefit.

"I think our hamster was the right age," he said.

Next year, he added, Hobbes will have more race experience but she may no longer have "the age advantage."

The race lasted less than 15 minutes and all three participants got prizes. Second-place winner Teddy and her owner Haylee Jordan entered the race again after a year's absence. Jordan, 12, said there were more entrants two years ago and the competition was tough for Teddy. After the race she said she was proud of her hamster for pulling through on Saturday even though the weather was hot and she knew Teddy was really tired.

"She got second place out of three, so she did pretty good," said Jordan. "I think it will be awesome next year."

Teddy was "just laying there" for the first half of the race, until her owner started clapping for encouragement.

"There were different strategies - some people tried calling and some people tried making loud noises to scare them and make them go faster," she said, but that doesn't always work. "If the hamster doesn't want to run, you really can't make them run by calling or scaring them."

Eight-year-old Andrew Young signed up third-place winner Fluffy for the first time this year and said he and his four-year-old pet would probably race again next year, too. Fluffy didn't train at all for the race and Young said he was happy when his hamster crossed the finish line.

"He liked it," said Young. "He didn't care if he was running or not."