Sindhia justified 5/2 favouritism for Michael Halford and Ronan Whelan in the Dundalkstadium.com Maiden.

On polytrack debut and her first outing for 77 days, the Aga Khan’s Sindhia was never too far away, and she travelled well, making progress on the outer over two furlongs out.

The successful daughter of Mastercraftsman led a furlong and a half out.

Strongly pressed under a furlong out she kept on best to beat Zahee by a length.

The runner-up missed the break but ultimately had every chance.

“I'm delighted to get that for her, she's a lovely big scopey filly with a good pedigree so it's important to get a bracket,” said Whelan.

“It's her first time to hit the front and she ran around a little bit, she's probably value for a bit more than that.

“She's a quite a shell of a horse still and she's only going to improve. The better the grade the better she'll be and her form has worked out well.

“Sue Shortt deserves all the credit because she's not the easiest at home and she's done a great job getting her to where she is now.

“She took over for her last two runs and you can see the way her form has improved. All the credit goes to her.”

(GC & EM)