The Sun's Scoop6 Squirrel controversially won the Mascot Grand National, denying InsideEdge's Big Willie Wager the chance of glory after we'd blagged him a place in the starting stalls.

	My trousers fell down, I tripped up and my head fell off

Reports suggested The Sun had installed 28-year-old Kevin Williams as the wily rodent on account of his pedigree. Williams had previously won the race as Oldham Athletic mascot Chaddy the Owl in 2002 and 2003, and, once again, duly annihilated the 63-strong field this year.

The squirrel's odds plummeted from an impossible 100/1 to 6/4 favourite as everyone piled in. The bookies believe they were the victims of an elaborate betting coup. 'It's a carve-up,' said Bet365's exasperated PR man, Steve Freeth.

Willie Plonker
The bookies may have been badly burned, but no one was more distraught than InsideEdge's very own mascot, Big Willie Wager. 'The Squirrel's footwear may have been furry, but it was clearly as light as a feather,' bemoaned Willie. 'It's a travesty that he didn't have to start at the back.'

Although Big Willie himself was forced to start along with other wannabes with a handicap of 30 metres - on account of his lightweight 'hooves' - hours of hype had led punters to believe he was one of the favourites. By the start of the race, which was sponsored by internet sports chat room 121s.com, Big Willie was 6/1 and had attracted around 20% of the entire market's betting activity. In the end, though, the pressure proved too much for the InsideEdge talisman, as yards from the finishing line his trousers fell down, he tripped on his tail and his head fell off, pushing him to a 14th-place finish.

Out of style
Big Willie Wager is reputedly stepping down as InsideEdge mascot to make way for younger blood. 'The whole head-falling-off incident has made me think it's time to move on to pastures new,' said the much-loved nag. 'I'd like to see the InsideEdge Watchdog take up the baton.'