There is, so the dog people would have it, £1 million at stake tonight at Dublin's Shelbourne Park greyhound track. An English-owned speedster called Some Picture attempts the final leg of a treble not seen since modern greyhound racing started in 1926 at Manchester's Belle Vue: all three of the sport's blueriband "classic" championships, namely the English, Scottish and Irish Derby finals, and in a single season to boot.

In addition to an iron constitution and a lethal finish, Some Picture has what his owner calls "fierce gears" down the straight and a remarkable ability to hold that acceleration while cornering. No bends, no real dog racing: corners and the problems they set are what separate the winners from the merely fast.

So Some Picture will be loaded into a starting box - "trap" in the trade - and in the darkness that has suddenly enveloped him, will immediately strain to hear the whirr of the wire-driven hare that is to send him around four bends and 550 yards of floodlit sand for a prize which, with the addition of a sponsor's Triple Crown bonus, works out at £145,000.

That would lift his career winnings to £240,000 and take the world stakes record from an American dog, but it will be money hard-earned. Some Picture has gone through this routine five times already in the past three weeks in Dublin. During the summer, he went undefeated through all the elimination rounds before winning the £20,000 final of the Scottish Derby in April and the £50,000 final of the English Derby in June - the latter in record time - but the long and lucrative season has taken its toll.

So, whatever happens over his next 30 seconds on the track, this will be Some Picture's last race. It is the projected stud fees he could command as a a Triple Crown winner that justify the pre-race hype: come and see the world's first million-pound greyhound.

There will be keening little yelps and whines from the five other dogs in the chutes beside him tonight, for these are all high-class racers and they know - and love - what comes next. Yesterday, each would have had his taut muscles massaged and been fed a special meal. Like 80 per cent of "British" greyhounds, Some Picture was born and raised in Ireland, but race-day routines are the same the dog world over.

Among the capacity all-ticket crowd of 7,000 will be Steve Spiteri, a man for whom the phrase "proud owner" could have been invented, not to mention "lucky owner", too.

Whitechapel-born and Wapping-bred, Spiteri joined the London Metals Exchange 20 years ago as a 16-year-old messenger boy and now combines evenings of picking up large cheques at dog tracks with a lucrative day-time job as a copper trader. Like most of those involved in the enclosed and intense world of dog racing, Spiteri is in love with it, seeing personality in the dogs and drama in the races where outsiders merely see animated fourlegged roulette. Good judgment in picking his purchases has played its part but, he admits, even now he can hardly believe his luck.

"Of the 30,000 dogs bred every year in Ireland, 90 per cent are moderate, nine per cent are good and one per cent are potentially great. It's every owner's dream to get into that one per cent," said Spiteri a few days ago.

Irish Derby Final

(550 yards; Winner £50,000) Joker's Run - Best time: 30.43. Owners: P Bell and P Hagan. Trainer: J Coyle. Odds: 40/1.

Right To Apply - Best time: 30.17. Owner: Mrs D Gaskin. Trainer: F Black. Odds: 14/1.

Vintage Prince - Best time: 30.05. Owner: R White. Trainer: Joe Kenny. Odds: 7/2.

Spiral Nikita - Best time: 30.05. Owner: Mrs E Gleeson. Owner: Owner trained. Odds: 3/1.

Some Picture - Best time: 30.12. Owner: S Spiteri. Trianer: C Lister. Odds: 3/1.

Tom's The Best - Best time: 30.26. Owner: RE Shotton. Trainer: N Savva. Odds: 3/1.