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Kauto Star, purple cap, reappears at Punchestown on Wednesday after finishing third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, above. Photograph: Tom Jenkins.

Kauto Star lines up at an unusually backable price in the Guinness Gold Cup at Punchestown on Wednesday, but with a number of imponderables in play, the best option must still be to keep a tight grip on your wallet. In opposition are seven rivals who would be clearly inferior to him, were he able to repeat the form of his third-place finish behind Long Run at Cheltenham in March – let alone his two previous Gold Cup victories.

The most popular steeplechaser since Best Mate, Kauto Star has only started odds-against in four of his 17 British successes, wins at odds like 2-9, 4-11, 2-5 and 4-9 meaning that often even his most loyal fans have cheered him home without having felt able to place a bet.

But despite his heroic effort against young pretender Long Run and old foe Denman on his latest start, backing Kauto Star is not a decision to be taken lightly these days as the evidence is overwhelming that he’s simply not as good as he once was – hardly a surprise given his rising years.

Furthermore, he looked a tired horse as he passed the post and trainer Paul Nicholls will surely have struggled to have freshened him up for this contest in the seven weeks since.

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USHUAIA SHH… Festival poster by Argentine rockstudios. More of the series can be viewed at the rockstudio portfolio (can’t link directly as it’s flash). Shame as it seems they were not used and were just concept work. They have a great feel to them and remind me a bit of ISO50/ Scott Hansen’s work (in a good way of course).