There will be enough plotlines running down the Rowley Mile this afternoon to keep the most ardent soapster glued to the screen. Will fate finally smile on Mick Channon? Could Pam Sly's wayward upstart come good?

Will it be first time lucky for Mark Prescott? Can Aidan O'Brien's second string upstage the star? Tune in at 3.30, when all will be answered in the 193rd 1,000 Guineas.

Twice Channon has had the unbeaten winter favourite for the youngest of the five Classics, and twice his candidate has failed to make the line-up.

In 1999, Bint Allayl broke a shoulder on the gallops three months before the race, and four years ago Queen's Logic went lame the day before.

Channon's contender today is Flashy Wings. The daughter of Zafonic, she tasted defeat in her last two outings last year, but her trainer rates her right up with her two illfated predecessors.

Pam Sly, on the other hand, has a star in Speciosa, and she decided to live the dream rather than cash in on their unexpected asset when the offers came over the winter.

Sly is in charge of mostly jumpers, and has sent out just 10 flat winners in the past five seasons, but Speciosa has earned her place among the elite. The filly is a difficult ride, but she has confounded her origins with two group wins on today's track already.

It is no surprise that Sly has never before had a runner in a Guineas, but a more eyebrow-raising statistic is in the case of Prescott, no stranger to top-level success.

Confidential Lady will be his first runner in any English Classic after 35 years with a licence. And at her best, the daughter of Singspiel had form last year that puts her right in the mix.

Aidan O'Brien is doublehanded in his bid for a 1,000 Guineas double, with Rumplestiltskin and Race For The Stars. Rumplestiltskin is the choice of Kieren Fallon, leaving Johnny Murtagh on the less exposed Race For The Stars. But Race For The Stars can avenge her halfbrother Hawk Wing's defeat to Rock Of Gibraltar (and Murtagh) in the 2,000 Guineas four years ago.