Bookies suspend betting at Crufts over suspicions of a 'super dog' scandal

Tongues were wagging at the self-proclaimed "greatest dog show in the world" over claims of an attempted betting coup.

The talk began when bookmakers William Hill announced it was not accepting any more bets as to which category the competition's overall winner - the Best in Show - would come from.

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The decision followed a rash of bets predicting that the winning dog would be from the "utility dog" category - a miscellaneous group of breeds including bulldogs, dalmatians, akitas, chow chows and shihtzus.

Could someone have inside information on the dog destined for greatness? Had Crufts fallen foul of "match fixers?"

And what about whispers there was some sort of super dooper poodle stalking this year's prize?

The odds for a utility dog being the winner had dramatically shortened from 13/2 to 1/2 on, leaving the bookies fearing that a so-called "mystery super dog" was about to cost them a packet in payouts.

Inside the cavernous NEC in Birmingham, where 23,964 dogs were entered in this year's competition, many owners were shocked to hear that betting even happened on the show, long considered an event of the utmost decorum.

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A minority who claimed to have inside knowledge spoke in hushed tones of a certain special poodle, some hinting that perhaps one of the judges may even have a particular penchant for this breed.

But were they barking up the wrong tree? It was hard to tell. Sometimes these dog people can be terribly, well, catty.

As one veteran of the show circuit declared: "There's more bitches outside the ring than in it."

In any case, as it turned out, the poodle conspiracy theorists' had nothing to fear.

The judges crowned Tango, a Japanese Shiba Inu, the winner of the utility class.

She will now go through to Sunday's grand final, competing against the winners from the other categories - pastoral, terrier, hound, toy, gun and working.

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Tango - or Janeryls in the line of Fire, to give her Kennel Club name - is owned by Janice and Brian Bannister, who run boarding kennels in Telford, Shropshire.

Last night, as Mrs Bannister did a lap of honour in the ring with Tango, Mr Bannister, 44, told the Mail: "We're very proud.

"I never heard anything about the betting, and as far as I know no one was betting on our dog. I don't gamble and I've never heard of anything like it before.

"I think it would be virtually impossible for anyone to predict who the Best In Show will be.

"They have to win best of breed, then their category and then the grand final - and there are different judges at each stage."

As owners trailed home past the giant inflatable Gromit outside the NEC last night, most seemed to agree.

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Iris McNair, 60, a retired hairdresser from Manchester who was there with her Japanese Spitzs, Hannah, four, and Willow, two, said: "It's a very competitive world but I don't see how anyone could confidently predict a winner."

However another owner added ominously: "It can be a cut-throat world. It's not the kind of thing to be in if you are thin-skinned."