Galway Festival betting tips: Peter O'Hehir's…

Galway Festival betting tips: Peter O'Hehir's selections for day six at Ballybrit

Handicap debutant King Pellinor appeals in the McDonogh Capital Investments Handicap on Day 6 of the Galway Festival.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained, three-year-old maiden, a son of Camelot, looks attractively handicapped off an initial mark of 77, although facing a field of hardened handicappers, including Matt Smith’s One Cool Poet, already a dual-winner at this week’s festival.

King Pellinor has raced only three times, finishing unplaced behind Tinandali on his debut at Leopardstown back in April.

A 10/1 shot for that debut run, the selection has been a beaten favourite on his two subsequent starts.

Three weeks after that debut, met trouble in running when seventh in a Tipperary maiden won by his

stable-companion Sir Dragonet which, of course, went on to bolt-up in the Chester Vase before finishing fifth, when favourite, to another Ballydoyle colt, Anthony Van Dyck, in the Investec Derby at Epsom.

Last time, King Pellinor went off favourite for a maiden in Limerick and finished third, beaten a length and a half, behind Trossachs and consistent but luckless Elite Trooper Grey.

Trossachs has progressed to win two handicaps and is now rated 98, which makes King Pellinor’s mark of 77 particularly eye-catching.

Punters in the betting ring at the Galway Races (Inpho)

This is undoubtedly the toughest task he has faced, against the likes of One Cool Poet, up 12lb. for his two wins here this week, and Tony Martin’s Share The Honour, 4lb. higher than when landing this prize 12 months ago.

Donnacha O’Brien rides King Pellinor and has obvious chances on Emperor Of The Sun and Lancaster House in the earlier maiden action.

Emperor Of The Sun made a pleasing start to his career in Killarney last month, when staying on to finish fourth behind shock winner Baby Zeus and his long odds-on stable-companion Arthur’s Kingdom.

With that run under his belt, he’ll be tough to beat in the four-runner Shearwater Hotel & Spa 2-Y-0 maiden, a race which O’Brien (who also runs Delta Dawn) has won five times in the last six years.

O’Brien gave newcomer Lancaster House, a Galileo colt, a favourable mention last week.

And, drawn one, he won’t have to be a star to land the Galway Shopping Centre Maiden on his debut, although Ballybrit is a far from ideal venue for debutants.