Bob Brown Bear and Chef Wasabi take Hastings Racecourse by storm
Bob Brown Bear and Chef Wasabi took to the Hastings Racecourse to compete against other local mascots such as Jack the Giant and the two time champion Bread-Head (Cobbs Bread) at Variety's Third Annual Mascot Race.
First up, Chef Wasabi was in 'Heat One' against some challenging competition.
As the race began it looked as though Chef might have finally found a race he could win as he flew over the first hurdle with flying colours and continued to barrel through toward the next obstacle.
The second hurdle? Well, it proved to be a little more difficult as Chef Wasabi got stuck and lost his place near the front of the pack. It looked as though he was going to finish in the bottom three when out of no where he finally overcame the second hurdle and raced towards the finish line.
Chef ended up tied for fourth, which would allow him to advance to the final heat.
Check out this amateur video clip from a local fan at the race
Next up was Canadians darling Bob Brown Bear who was competiting in the second heat and his race proved to be just as difficult as Chef Wasabi's was just minutes earlier.
Bob started out near the back of the group as he tried to gain the momentum needed to pass the four ahead of him. As he approached the first hurdle he, like Chef Wasabi, flew over it and looked as though he was going to move into fourth place.
Bob headed towards the second and final hurdle and it proved again to be the most difficult obstacle of all. Bob almost made it over but sadly fell hard as he could not jump as high as the hurdle.
Bob struggled to get up and when he finally got to his feet, he crossed the finish line in seventh place. Despite the lackluster showing from Vancouver's most loveable bear, it was still all smiles, high-fives and hugs.
Good news came Bob Brown Bear's way shortly after.
Bob was paired with two-time champion Bread-Head for the Three-Legged Race back on the track. Chef Wasabi was also named as a participant in the three-legged race and was paired with the 93.7 JR FM Cat.
With the sound of the horn from legendary Hasting Racecourse Announcer Dan Jukich, they were off! Bob and Bread-Head were just a few paces behind the leaders with Chef and the Cat just a little ways back.
As Bob Brown Bear and Bread-Head began making up ground on both Jack the Giant and Return It! Man, bad luck would strike as Jack and Return It! Man's rope around their ankles broke apart and the two ended up just running normally toward the finish. Bob and Bread-Head ended up finishing second to Jack and Return It! Man but in a twist of fate, the judges made it official that Jack and Return It! Man had been disqualified for the broken bonds around their ankles. Bob Brown Bear and Bread-Head would become the winners of this race with Chef Wasabi and the Cat finishing in second.
After the three legged race, Bob hung around to take pictures and get hugs from all the children in the stands. Chef Wasabi also took pictures and hugs but had to go to the athlete waiting area to hydrate up for his big and final race.
The top eight mascots were shuffled out to the starting line and thus began the most intense minute of their racing lives.
When the horn buzzed this time, Chef took off as fast as he could, making it to the first hurdle even faster than in the first heat. Chef took the first hurdle with ease making him dead even with four other mascots for the outright lead.
But on this day, the dough would rise to the top once again as Bread-Head would find one last burst making it to the finish line just seconds before Chef Wasabi. The two-time champ had just made it a 'three-peat'.
Though Chef Wasabi wasn't the ultimate winner, he did finish second out of 16 local mascots all on-hand to raise money for local charities including Variety, the Children's Charity.
Bob Brown Bear and Bread-Head made an impeccable team as they claimed the first place in the three legged race so it was a fantastic showing for both of the Vancouver Canadians mascots in attendance.
More important than the final standings, the Canadians mascots and everyone in attendance had a great time out at Hastings Racecourse.
Our thanks goes out to 'Dr. Sport', Greg Douglas, Raj Mutti and all of our friends over at Hastings Racecourse.