By Cornelius Lysaght BBC Sport racing correspondent

Let's face it, this Flat season has been hardly vintage, merely okay.

Not surprising really considering that we have enjoyed two or even three exceptional years immediately beforehand.

There have been notable highpoints, mostly - again - from Aidan O'Brien and his horses.

Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin team have been quiet.

And the biggest noises have been made by dramas - both alleged and for real - away from the course, like doping and racing politics.

However, that is all set to change with potentially the best race of the year, and it is coming to a racecourse near you, every day between now and November.

Yes, folks, we are talking here about the Flat riders' title race, the most wide open contest since Steve Cauthen and Pat Eddery made us forget the clocks had gone back in 1987.

Then, the two engaged in a prolonged struggle that went all the way to the wire, with Cauthen landing the spoils by 197 winners to 195.

But this year's contest has added spice. It is a close three-runner affair, between the holder Kieren Fallon, and two of the sport's rising stars, Richard Hughes and Seb Sanders.

And, technically-speaking, Kevin Darley, the former champion, and Richard Quinn are both in with outside chances.

But Fallon has to be the favourite.

Entering the closing stages, and despite suffering a few knocks this year, the bold Irishman holds a clear advantage.

But he faces a ban that is as lengthy as it is untimely, and which could make him vulnerable.

Hughes, who missed the start of the season with a broken leg, lies in second place, and has been chasing hard for some time.

Hughes has also incurred a suspension at a time that he can ill afford it, but he should be busy during the closing weeks.

So that leaves Sanders.

The least known of the trio, he has hit a purple patch at a crucial time.

The stables of Sir Mark Prescott and Peter Makin, his two main trainers, will keep going until the bitter end, after slow starts, and victory is not impossible.

Ultimately, I suppose that Fallon will probably win, with Hughes second and Sanders third.

But, as Shakespeare wrote for Henry IV, "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown".

The only certainty is there are no certainties.

And just as Cauthen and Eddery brought an extra spark to late season meetings at Musselburgh and Hamilton 15 years ago, the three main protagonists should lighten up the autumn evenings.

I can't wait. It is just what we need.