The horses we'd love to see win this Arc weekend - although some of them will need a change of luck

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As the end of the Flat season draws nigh, it's a time for dreams. There's just a handful of big races left and we've probably all formed some ideas about which horses we'd like to win them.

Wanting a particular outcome is very different from believing it'll happen. It takes us away from traditional punterly thinking and towards the kind of fandom that other sports would recognise.

I don't do it often. It's an indulgence. But it's valid for the glamorous, end-of-term races like the ones we'll be watching this weekend.

To varying degrees, there's a handful of horses I'd really like to see in the winner's enclosure. When I'm supposed to be doing something else, I picture it happening.

I'll list four of them here. If you have some different ideas, email them to me: frontrunner@racingpost.com.

Trueshan Prix du Cadran

This is an obvious one; who doesn't love Trueshan? Especially now that he's eight and he's been around forever.

Alan King's stayer has won the Cadran twice already and is unbeaten in it. If he were to take it for a third time, he'd be the most successful horse in the race's history since the great Marsyas all the way back in the 1940s.

The French aren't really into statues of British athletes but maybe they'd make an exception for Trueshan if he wins on Saturday. Or maybe they'd settle for a statue of Hollie Doyle, which would obviously mean a substantial saving on the bronze required.

Who doesn't love Trueshan?Credit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Longchamp in October has been a great time and place to catch Trueshan. You'll remember him pounding clear of Stradivarius three years ago. He had less to beat last year but still put up a commanding performance.

We haven't seen the very best of him this year but he's been consistently good and ran right to the line in the Doncaster Cup, losing out by only a length. With an extra two furlongs this weekend, who knows what can happen?

Weather is an issue. He'd probably need a bit of a mudbath and at the moment there isn't really enough rain in the forecast to ensure that.

Plus, of course, there's Kyprios, whose best performance came in the Cadran on testing ground a couple of years ago. He'll need to run below form if Trueshan is to get his third victory here. But stranger things have happened.

Tamfana Sun Chariot or Prix de l'Opera

Whether it'll be Newmarket on Saturday or Longchamp on Sunday, David Menuisier's filly has had this weekend circled in her diary for a while. She didn't have much of a name until the 1,000 Guineas, for which she was allowed to start at 33-1, but eyes were opened when she passed most of the field in the final 300 yards to be beaten just a length.

She again ran well when third in the French Oaks and fourth in the Grand Prix de Paris. She scored with authority last time in the Atalanta when connections dropped her to Group 3 level in the cause of ensuring she had a win to show for her season.

It's been an excellent year for Menuisier, who has raked in loads more prize-money than ever before, but it could have been so much better. Sunway is another of his who has kept rattling the woodwork.

If the Racing Gods have any mercy, they'll let horse and trainer have a Group 1 moment this weekend. The Sun Chariot, over the Guineas course and distance, seems more likely but Menuisier likes to have runners in France and perhaps he'll decide an extra quarter-mile in the Opera would be more suitable. I hope his choice is rewarded.

Believing Prix de l'Abbaye

Speaking of fillies who've been peppering the crossbar, how about Believing's season? She was a game fourth in two races at Royal Ascot, failed by three parts of a length in the King George at Glorious Goodwood, was beaten the same margin in the Nunthorpe and was then second again in the Flying Five at the Curragh.

Just to rub it in, she made her move on the 'wrong' side of the course at York, while Bradsell stuck to the far side that had been favoured that week. She was again first home on her side in Ireland last time, behind the same rival.

Can Believing catch a break in the Abbaye?Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Can't a girl catch a break? Perhaps it'll come in the form of a nice, low draw in the Abbaye.

Ground is thought to be an issue for George Boughey's four-year-old. She'd probably need a drying week but that's not impossible.

Ramatuelle Prix de la Foret

Completing my set of fillies who have put their connections through the wringer is Christopher Head's three-year-old. It was tough to watch that footage back in May of her owners anticipating Guineas success as she went clear at Newmarket, their expressions dissolving to dismay as they saw her getting reeled in.

Aurelien Lemaitre was a bit too quick to press the button that day, bearing in mind he was riding a filly whose stamina for a mile was in question. But she ran to a similar level when Oisin Murphy followed more conservative tactics in the Coronation Stakes, so perhaps there was just no way for her to win those races.

Let's remember also that Ramatuelle got run down in the Morny last year, having been in the lead for 14 of that race's final 15 seconds.

Since June, connections have decided to be patient and it appears to have been the right decision. "She put on a lot of condition for her break and we're very optimistic for the Foret," Head told my colleague Scott Burton three weeks ago.

Kinross stands in the way, a horse who is probably a bit unlucky not to have won the last two Forets. No one could complain if he won. But equally, if he was a close second to Ramatuelle, I think that'd be all right too.

The Arc

Who should win the big one? Who will win? These are the £2.5 million questions that we'll be tackling through the week.

At this stage, I think I'd enjoy Fantastic Moon striking another blow for German racing. A four-year-old who's just won the Grosser Preis von Baden, he shares that profile with Torquator Tasso the year he won.

Can Fantastic Moon land a blow in the Arc for Germany?Credit: Sabine Schweitzer/marcruehl.com

A dryish week would be good news for him. He didn't do much behind Ace Impact in last year's Arc but his campaign this time has been more focused on a late peak.

All that being said, this Arc has a bit of developing to do. Auguste Rodin is still a possible runner, for crying out loud. We'll get a sense of the shape of this race as the week progresses.

Read these next:

What's on this week: Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe steals the show - but there's a strong supporting cast at Goffs, Ascot and Newmarket 

Auguste Rodin could join Los Angeles and Continuous on Aidan O'Brien's Arc team if Longchamp ground dries out 

Windsor joins Newton Abbot in cancelling fixture on Monday with the course waterlogged 

The Front Runner is our unmissable email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, the reigning Racing Writer of the Year, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content.