The most unforgettable runnings of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe tend to be defined by the name of the winner: Dancing Brave in 1986, Sea The Stars in 2009 and the unbeaten Zarkava’s retirement run the year before. But for anyone who was lucky enough to be there, Arc day in 2006 was as memorable as any of recent decades, and it was all thanks to the horse that crossed the line in third.

Deep Impact was not the first runner from Japan in Europe’s most prestigious all-aged race. But he was, by a long way, the most popular, and the combination of a horse with an aura of invincibility and his superstar jockey, Yutaka Take, persuaded tens of thousands of fans to make the 12,500-mile round trip to Paris for a two-and-a-half minute horse race.

Related: Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe: Sosie leads quiet maestro André Fabre’s quest

It was a strange and also an inspiring experience to wander through Longchamp’s enclosures and in front of the grandstands, already packed many hours before the big race itself, and think that in the early years of the 21st century, it was still possible for so many people to be so enraptured by a racehorse.

A big Japanese presence at Longchamp when the country has a fancied runner in the Arc has been a feature of the weekend ever since. As the fans have kept coming, so have the disappointments, for those at the track and also the millions watching at home in the small hours of Monday morning. Orfevre’s defeat in 2012 when victory seemed inevitable is an especially painful memory.

Frequently beaten but for ever unbowed, Japan’s fervent racing fans will return here on Sunday not just to support Shin Emperor, the country’s only runner in a 16-strong field, but also, as something of a saver, Joseph O’Brien’s Al Riffa, who will be ridden by Take, 18 years on from his loss on Deep Impact.

Shin Emperor has yet to win at anything better than Grade Three level in Japan, but his close third in last month’s Irish Champion Stakes was as fine an Arc trial as you could hope to see.

It is also in his favour that this will not be the strongest Arc of recent years. City Of Troy, the season’s outstanding three-year-old colt, is being aimed at the Breeders’ Cup Classic, while two top-class geldings, Goliath and Calandagan, are ineligible under the conditions for this race. But that also means it is a wide-open contest and an Arc unusually rich in storylines.

André Fabre, an undisputed all‑time great, saddles three runners – Sosie, Mqse De Sevigne and Sevenna’s Knight – in search of a record-extending ninth win, two months before his 79th birthday.

Look De Vega, the French Derby winner, runs for Carlos Lerner, an Argentinian by birth who fell in love with racing and horses on a visit to Chantilly as a student and settled in France soon afterwards, and his son, Yann, a former jockey.

Holding the reins, meanwhile, is 46-year-old Ronan Thomas, a journeyman for much of his riding career, whose French Derby win aboard Look De Vega in June was his first Group One success in France.

Aidan O’Brien, inevitably, has an obvious chance to add a third Arc to his record with Los Angeles, the Irish Derby winner, at the end of what has already been an outstanding season. But Los Angeles is just one of four horses that could easily emerge as the eventual favourite. There is 9lb between the 16-strong field on Timeform ratings, and 4lb between the top 10.

If the French three-year-old form turns out to be the best on offer, then either Sosie or Look De Vega will probably emerge in front. But neither has a rating to match last year’s three-year-old winner, Ace Impact, at this stage of their career, while Shin Emperor, like so many Japanese runners before him, is not certain to appreciate a soft surface.

Uttoxeter 1.15 Norn Iron 1.50 Nowmelad 2.25 Traveling Soldier 3.00 Rambo T 3.35 Lihyan (nb) 4.10 Home Free 4.45 Get With It 5.20 Ned Cash

Kelso 1.30 Bel Amigo 2.05 Shared 2.40 Yokkell 3.15 Do No Wrong 3.50 Fringill Dike (nap) 4.25 Iwa 5.00 Dalileo

This could still be the year, though, when the Japanese fans leave at least partially satisfied. British punters of a certain age still regard Take with suspicion after his fast-finishing Arc defeat on White Muzzle in 1994, but he has proven himself time and again to be a world-class rider and in Al Riffa (3.20), he may have finally found the horse to get him over the line at Longchamp.

The four-year-old has clearly been aimed towards this race all year, came from well off the pace to give City Of Troy a serious race in the Eclipse in July at Sandown. He then stayed every yard of the 12-furlong trip when successful in the Group One Grosser Preis von Berlin last time.

At about 10-1 with British bookies, he is a slightly under-the-radar contender with as strong a chance as any of the favourites, and an excellent bet to give Take a Longchamp moment to cherish.